Friday, October 25, 2013

Tuna Noodle Casserole - 224 Calories Per Serving

So as fall has finally decided to show up in North Carolina, I decided to make a comfort food meal that just wouldn't do during the something. I haven't made tuna noodle casserole before, but it didn't look particularly difficult.

What I really like about this meal is it's one of those "What do I have in the pantry" dishes. More often than not I will have multiple Cream of Something soups, no-yolk noodles, tuna, and a bunch of other random stuff that if it doesn't get eaten will just stay there until the end of time. So without further ado...

Tuna Noodle Casserole

For this dish you will need:
  • 4 cups (dry) egg noodles (I use no-yolk)
  • 24 oz tuna
  • 1 10 3/4oz can cream of chicken
  • 1 10 3/4oz can cream of broccoli
  • 2 cups peas
  • 1 cup non-fat milk
Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 30 minutes Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2 quarts (8 servings) Serving size: 1 cup Calories per serving: 224.17

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.
  2. Boil water and cook noodles according to package, drain.
  3. Mix together the soup, milk, peas, tuna, and noodles in a 2-quart casserole dish (I split mine into two 1 quart dishes).
  4. Bake for 30 minutes.

Nutrition:


Cals
Tot Fat
Sat Fat
Trans
Sodium
Protein
Sugar
4 cups (dry) egg noodles
533.33
2.67
0
0
106.67
21.33
5.33
24 oz tuna
540
6
0
0
2160
120
0
10 3/4oz can cream of chicken
175
6.25
2.5
0
1475
7.5
2.5
10 3/4oz can cream of broccoli
225
12.5
2.5
0
1975
2.5
7.5
2 cups peas
240
0
0
0
40
16
16
1 cup non-fat milk
80
0
0
0
125
8
12
Total
1793.33
27.42
5
0
5881.67
175.33
43.33
Total per serving
224.17
3.43
0.625
0
735.21
21.92
5.42
Total with 1 cup cheddar
2233.33
63.42
29
0
6601.67
203.33
43.33
Total per serving w/ cheddar
279.17
7.93
3.625
0
825.21
25.42
5.42



The hubs loved this one a lot (so much so he ate an entire quart of it. I also added in some pepper for flavor. In retrospect I think it could do with the addition of some cheddar cheese. If you add in a cup of cheddar that would bring the total calorie count per serving up to 279.17 calories, which still isn't bad.

The second time I made this, I used this pin that showed how to make your own cream of chicken soup. I don't know what the nutrition info is for it, but at least I know exactly what I put into my body (cream of anything soup is often referred to as cream of chemical soup). The pinner claims you can use it to replace any kind of cream soup, but I doubt it. It is chicken flavored, so I only used it to replace the cream of chicken soup. I also didn't need the cup of milk since the homemade cream of chicken soup is not as gelatinous as the store bought kind.  

About Samantha Bookwalter

Google+
Samantha Bookwalter is currently Associate Web Content Manager for Health Supplement Wholesalers. She specializes in web editing, copyediting, SEO, HTML, CSS, and other web-related acronyms. Samantha has an affinity for health and fitness; in her free time she enjoys working out with her husband and researching recipes that are not only healthy but delicious too.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Knitting Baby Blankets and Evil Mitered Corners

So I enjoy knitting and originally intended to post more often about my knitting escapades (the stitches does play into the name of this blog after all, who knew?)

Anyway, I have a friend who had a baby right around my anniversary in May and I had been meaning to make her a baby blanket. She also has a toddler (just turned 3) and I didn't think it would be very nice to make the baby a blanket and not give the toddler one too.

So I made the newborn a small-ish (30x30) blanket for the car seat or when his mom goes for runs with her jogging stroller. I used much finer baby yarn for his so that one took a really long time. I don't do any of the fancy stitches for blankets (I save that for scarves, hats, and mittens).

I also put blanket minky around the edges because knitted blankets have a tendency of not being easy to grab at the edges (they get all stretched out over time). The minky gives it some stability.

Here's the baby blanket:



I made the toddler's blanket much larger since I figured he was probably in a toddler bed (or would be soon if he wasn't already. I made his out of a heavier weighted yarn. it's super soft and warm. This one I actually remember the quanitites. It took 6 rolls of the yarn, size 11 needles. I cast on 110 stitches. It ended up being about 49x38:


Let me tell you, those mitered corners are ridiculous. I sew the minky on by hand since I don't have a sewing machine. That takes a million years, but it can be relaxing after a stressful day. I just turn my brain off and sew away.

Here they are folded up together:


Tada! Christmas is coming up, I'm sure I'll be posting more of my creations after the holidays.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Insanity vs P90X vs Crossfit and My Results

Almost a year ago I posted my Insanity before and after results. I was happy with them at the time, but I was still nowhere near where I wanted to be. I also didn't really understand how fitness and nutrition really worked. I knew it was calories in vs calories out, but I didn't really pay attention in the beginning to the kinds of calories. Now I track fats, protein, and sodium as well (and sort of sugar, but not really since I don't have a sweet tooth--my issue is salt, so I pay more attention to that). There is obviously more to fitness than those factors, but those were the factors I let slip the most. I think it was those factors there were keeping me from where I wanted to be as well.

I gained a good bit of the weight back over the holidays and I got super mopey about it. My husband was also about to leave for 9 weeks for training so I was mega down in the dumps about that as well. I also decided that it was time to get back on the fitness horse for real. In the 12 weeks of P90X I lost 14 lbs and a good bit of inches.

Once I completed P90X, I moved onto crossfit workouts and I love them. I feel like I did the various workout programs in the best possible order to set me up for success. Insanity got me back in cardio shape, P90X built lean muscle and helped me annihilate fat, and crossfit has given me the variety to stay focused (and not get bored) while maintaining my weight. The first column contains my post-insanity results, the middle column is my pre-P90X results (my numbers went back up since I slacked over the holidays), the final column is where I am now (same as my post P90X results). I've maintained my weight and results for 5 months now! Woo!

Neck: 12.5
Waist: 27.5
Hips: 37
L Thigh: 20.5
R Thigh: 20.75
Wrist: 5.5
Forearm: 8.75

Neck: 12.5
Waist: 28
Hips: 37.5
L Thigh: 21
R Thigh: 21
Wrist: 5.5
Forearm: 8.5

Neck: 12.25
Waist: 25.5
Hips: 34
L Thigh: 19.5
R Thigh: 19.5
Wrist: 5.5
Forearm: 8.25

I am freakishly ecstatic about my triceps. You don't even know. In regards to the different programs, I would say Insanity is for beginners since there are no set reps--you just do the number of reps you are comfortable doing (but take it easy if you have no exercise experience, I'm not an expert nor a doctor so I can't really say what is safe for any given individual), P90X is for intermediate fitness enthusiasts (if you use lighter weights and elastic bands) to above average fit individuals (if you heavy up the weights and can do pull ups). Crossfit is technically for anybody. Some workouts are basic enough for even the laziest couch potato, others will make grown men cry. It all comes down to knowing your body, what it is capable of, and when to stop.

Some pros and cons:

Insanity Pros: No prep required for a workout, just pop in the DVD, most workouts are 45 minutes or less month one and about an hour month 2, calendar to track your workouts, and a nutrition guide.

Insanity Cons: Some moves cannot be altered for those who cannot perform them yet. My biggest beef with the program looking back is it is super cardio-based. A lot of people are stuck in the mind set to lose weight they need to do cardio, cardio, cardio but I saw my best results after lifting weights. Muscle burns fat, so build some! That's why I think Insanity is a good starting block for most individuals.

P90X Pros: Again, no prep, calendar to keep track of your workout schedule, and a kick-ass nutrition guide with meal ideas that look awesome, involves weights and really picks up the intensity.

P90X Cons: They're all around an hour (some even a bit longer like the yoga day) and you will have to buy weights. I know I just said weights are a good thing, but for those who do not want to or cannot spend the extra cash, this can be a negative of the program.

Crossfit pros: the WODs are nearly endless, go onto pinterest and you will see tons of them all over the place. Many can be tailored so they do not require equipment if you don't happen to have access. The variety is what really trumps here as you can only hear Tony Horton caw like a pterodactyl or listen to Shawn T say "Pump through it!" so many times before you want to strangle them both. Plus, if you do it on your own, this can be totally free for you if money is tight.

Crossfit cons: While doing it on your own can be free, if you want a membership to a crossfit gym, you are going to need to shell out a decent chunk of cash (more so than your standard gym). Plus, doing it on your own can be intimidating or even dangerous if you don't know proper form. Also, having to go on the hunt for a workout (or plan your own) can result in not working out for the day if you didn't plan ahead. If you do opt for the membership though, you get the super bonus of 1-on-1 time with trainers who will help you with form. Just make sure to do your research first and read reviews for the gyms in your area.

You can also check out my review of Focus T25 here:

Something else that is often overlooked by beginners (or those who just like to eat all the time like I did a few months ago) is nutrition, which is a huge part of successful weight loss and maintenance. Check out my blog for other recipes along with the corresponding nutrition info. I've also put together some crossfit WODs of my own that require little to no equipment, so take a look for examples and ideas, good luck!

About Samantha Bookwalter

Google+
Samantha Bookwalter is currently Associate Web Content Manager for Health Supplement Wholesalers. She specializes in web editing, copyediting, SEO, HTML, CSS, and other web-related acronyms. Samantha has an affinity for health and fitness; in her free time she enjoys working out with her husband and researching recipes that are not only healthy but delicious too.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Being an ESFJ (Also Known as Mortifying Extroversion)

Most individuals are saddled with a certain amount of regret; this is fairly normal and one of the key ways we learn the ins and outs of life (i.e. don't spit on people, they will punch you in the face).

As an ESFJ (or perhaps as a crazy person), I am saddled with every regret, every memory, and I hyper analyze everything I have ever done (yet I seem to lack this ability in regards to foresight). I also apparently never learn from these events as I continually make the same mistake and suffer the crushing self-loathing afterward.


But before I dig any further into my brain let me explain what an ESFJ is to those not in the know. This is an acronym based off one of the more popular and commonly used personality tests (Myers-Briggs personality type). My particular acronym stands for Extroversion, Sensing, Feeling, Judging (extroverted feeling; introverted sensing).

1. To begin, ESFJ's base their opinions on their experiences. It does not matter that you read 100 journals, heard 5000 testimonies, and received a notarized document that says cantaloupe will not poison you. You ate a cantaloupe as a 10 year old and spent the next 2 days on the toilet; you will never eat a cantaloupe again dammit.

2. ESFJ's also genuinely care about other people and want to do things to make their lives easier. However, a big F YOU if you don't acknowledge that we did something nice. Actually, it's more like "I did something nice for them. I didn't have to. I don't want a letter or a trophy, I just want them to smile or nod or maybe even blink more rapidly than normal so I know they are aware I did this thing for them. Maybe if I keep trying to do nice things they'll acknowledge it one day".

ESFJ's want you to be happy. They also want you to acknowledge that they want you to be happy. In this way, they are easily wounded. They took the time to do something nice for you and you did not appreciate it. This is read as you do not like them or whatever they did for you. This makes them sad and frustrated.

Oh please, oh please, oh please say I'm a good boy!...say it...Fine, I'm going to go chew on your shoes.

2a. In regards to the caring thing, ESFJ's are often blinded by the faults of those who are close to them. They will defend their family, husband, child, etc to the teeth even if they are guilty as sin. It's not a matter of "family first" (even though ESFJ's do value family A LOT); it's that they believe the best in people and have a way to bring it out. ESFJ's will make you be the best version of you if you are around them long enough, so they either never see the "bad" parts or they are blind to them because you never behave that way around them.

3. ESFJ's are very loud in their opinions of what is right and wrong. I THINK THIS HEY LOOK I THINK IT LALALALA. However, ESFJ's will mold to a group opinion. Sometimes this is a lifelong group opinion, such as that of your parents. Other times it is short term (i.e. These people at this party do not agree with my opinion at all. I don't want to make them uncomfortable with my different-ness so I'll adopt a neutral stance to mesh better with them).

ESFJ's won't necessarily drop their belief, but they'll go with the crowd (or at least not directly conflict with it) not because they aren't strong in their convictions but because they like to make people happy. Note: Some actually don't have strong morals and will base their beliefs on social factors to manipulate people. This is the case if they grew up in a ethically-lacking environment (I am not that kind of ESFJ. I've got morals thank-you-very-much).

4. Lastly, ESFJ's value tradition and order. If there is a rule, they will follow it. If it goes against the norm, they will have a hard time with it. It's not that they don't value innovation or finding a new way to do things--they just prefer the sense of order and calm that comes with an established routine. This worked before, therefore it will work again. Your version may work better, but it may backfire terribly and it would really just be much less messy if we stick with the way things are usually done.

I would like to take this moment to note this is just my interpretation of EFSJ. Not every person who gets labeled as an ESFJ will fit this mold (or be as crazy as me). It's a general framework. My interpretation will not necessarily be your interpretation.

So how does this play out in real life? Crushing self torment is how it plays out in my world. I make fast and quick judgments that are next to impossible to change (refer to #1). Arguments on your behalf will not change my opinion, actions on your part will not change my opinion. You wronged me once, you will do it again.

Then you have the flip side. I tried to be friends with you and you rejected me. Not necessarily in a "I don't want to be friends" way; you could have said I overwhelm you or you could have ignored 4 out of the last 5 calls I made to check up on you (because I make a point of inquiring when life gets hard for my friends). I read this as I did something to upset you, that there is clearly something wrong with me, and the hyper overanalyzing begins. I will replay every conversation that we've ever had in my mind (this has nothing to do with being an ESFJ--more with the fact that I can remember pretty much everything ever since I was 3) and try to determine what I did wrong. I may not have done anything wrong, you may not have intentionally ignored my calls or meant to hurt me, but the fact remains you wounded me and I'm over here trying to figure out why you hate me.

Worse is when I know for certain I've done something that hurt someone. As an ESFJ, I like to make people feel good about themselves. I know intimately what it feels like to not like yourself. Making someone unhappy results in long-term self hatred. Maybe hatred is too harsh of a word. What I mean is, if you are mad at me about something I said or did, odds are I am up at night replaying it over and over in my mind (forever) concocting ways I could have done something different (as if I could change it, as if all this torturous reflection will do anything other than further distress me). These things don't go away either, I will do this to myself over the same incident for years. I still remember the things I said and did as a child and agonize over them. I cannot change them, they are ridiculous, but they haunt me still (I am aware this is insane; I blame my scumbag brain).


As an outsider looking in, it may not be clear how ESFJ's make friends if we are this panicky and needy. We make friends because we genuinely care about how people feel (to a fault), we are very outgoing, and because all of this insanity is internal. At least in my case anyway. Externally, I fill the void with constant talking. I cannot have silence; it scares me. You being quiet is you thinking about things you don't like about me. This may seem crazy, but this stems from experience. Once I've experienced something, my brain cements it as fact (refer to #1). If you are standing there not talking, you are going to open your mouth either to me or someone else and say something unpleasant about me/my opinion/etc. Thus, I must talk or find a way to make you talk. I must fill the silence because the alternative sucks. This talking is also construed as confidence because I am not shy.

Outgoing is often confused with confidence. They are not the same thing. I have very little confidence anymore; all you jerkbags have sucked that right out of me (just kidding). What I have is zero foresight so I will dive right in to a conversation and then dissect it later. I will talk and smile and engage with you. I will say nice things about you or assuage your fears that you are a bad person/mom/employee/what have you; I am also funny sometimes, I think that probably helps.

ESFJ's also tend to draw people in somehow (I have a secret people magnet, don't tell anyone). This is why I make a lot of friends quickly. This lack of foresight is also why I can't seem to keep them. The constant talking probably plays into that as well. People like to talk to me about their problems and I will do my best to dispel their doubts. But then when it is my turn to emotion dump, I go overboard. I am too social, too forward, and it is off putting. I know this about myself, but in the moment I read it as you want to use me as a garbage bag for your bad feelings then throw me out when I try to do the same.

I will also judge the crap out of you. Loudly. Now, this does not hold true if I care about you. This is if I don't like you or know you (the best kind of judging, really). This is how my two bad run-ins with cops correlates to I hate all cops. It's not even that I hate them, it's I hate how I feel around them so when I see them and because of my experiences, I assume they will all treat me poorly (refer to #1). Not only will I assume this, I will talk about it if it comes up (but heaven forbid someone in the room is related to a cop; then I just clam up and adopt a neutral stance--if it's too late for neutrality then I will try to end the conversation, "Let's agree to disagree" "I don't want to argue with you about it", refer to #3).

I also have a freakish desire to follow rules. I'm not talking established laws (I follow those too), I'm talking about things like going in the correctly labeled doors. If the door says exit, do not enter through it, people. I'm looking at you blue-striped shirt guy.


That right there, makes me nuts. It makes me angry and frustrated and I will feel flustered until I am away from the rule-breaker or have corrected the behavior. Anyone who has driven with me and not put on their seat belt will know this about me. I will not stop talking about anything else until you buckle up: "So it would be nice if you would buckle up...Seriously, put on your seat belt...I am going to slam on my breaks to bash your head in through the windshield if you don't put on your mother trucking seat belt." Yes, it is that serious.

I'm not even talking about your life in this situation (which I do find to be important); I'm talking about the flutters of unrest I feel by your rule breaking. Something bad will happen because you are not following the rules. Maybe we will crash and you will go head first through the window, maybe I will run over a dog, maybe lightning will strike the car--it will be because the rules are not being followed.

^That may be an exaggeration, but seriously just follow the rules.

There are good parts to me. It's not all terrible and needy and judgmental (just kidding, it totally is; I'm really quite a horrible person).

I am a good person to have on your side when you are in the dirt. I will defend you. I will be your David. I will not only slay Goliath, I'll go glare at Goliath's friends and family, thump my chest, and scream "YOU WANT SOME??!?!?!" because I protect the ones I love. I don't care that you were caught red handed and I don't care that you may actually be a bad person. I love you and at the end of my day that is what is important--family and friends and defending them from their demons because mine have already eaten me alive.

But if you don't give me the wink and nod to acknowledge what I did for you then fuck you, Goliath's family can have at you.

I told you, I am a terrible person.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Butt and Gut WOD

So I decided to focus on the muscles in my body that I want to be super toned. One day I will have a six pack dammit. I meant, wth, why is it the top 4 are super defined and the bottom two are just all like, "Yea, we know you do lower core workouts, but we don't care. We're not coming out. Neener, neener, neener."

Oh well, I'll crack the code on that one another day.

On the other hand, I'm super proud of my glutes. I went through Insanity, P90X, and now crossfit style workouts and it wasn't until about a week ago that I even looked at my butt since probably Halloween. I mean, I'd seen it in clothes (but looking good in clothes and looking good naked are two completely different things) but for the first time in a long time I donned a bathing suit to go to the beach. My reaction was pretty much this:


Squats, seriously, do wonders for the butt region. DO ALL THE SQUATS...anyway. So at work I've started making those pins since they are in the health and fitness industry. Here is the latest one, which can be found on this blog post as well.

 

So there it is, your core and glute WOD. 

Friday, June 14, 2013

Total Body WOD

My husband brought this WOD home to me a few weeks ago. It took me 22:15 to do the whole thing, and then die afterward...or go for a run, whichever. In other news that apparently only I care about (rest of the world, why u no interested in my fitness?), I can now do ~6~ pull ups. Your jealousy is overwhelming.

Anyway, here it is without further ado, the total body WOD:


Those 3 max set of dead hang pull ups were killer. I warn you, your max after the 4 sets will not be your max from a fresh start. I was all jello and lame-sauce after them and could not crank out nearly as many.

Good luck!

Friday, June 7, 2013

Cardio & Strength WOD

I realized I tend to either get hyper focused on strength training or cardio and I never really mix the two, which is what inspired today's WOD:


I originally planned on doing this one later today, but seeing as there is a tropical storm passing through causing bucket of rain and tornados to appear, I think I may be staying indoors. I do have a treadmill, but ug I hate that thing. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and use the dang thing. Not sure what the hubs is gonna do though. His stride is way too long for it.

As you may or may not have realized, I post these on my pinterest as well. There are tons of other workout routines on that board, so be sure to check it out for more ideas.

Speaking of fitness boards, what is it with most pinners and their inability to pin real workouts? They have tones of motivational images but no actual routines to follow. It is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to pinterest. I don't care if people want to have pictures that motivate them, but, seriously, label the board as such. Fitspiration, My Motivation, etc are all acceptable title. I Workout, Working on My Fitness, etc leads me to believe there will be workouts. If I don't see them, I get irritated (which is why I started making my own workout graphics in the first place. I've actually written an entire article on the issue:

#1 Reason Pinteresters Fail at Pinterest.

But enough of my blather, you have a workout to do ;)

Friday, May 31, 2013

Work Those Glutes/Abs - Crossfit Light WOD

Here is one I put together meant to focus mainly on the glutes and abdominals. Other parts are incorporated to give them a break, but still. The picture says to repeat 3 times, but do more if you are feeling particularly ambitious or compliment it with another one that I've posted, such as the abdominal circuit.


50 mountain climbers
40 bridges
30 squats
20 lunges total
10 burpees
1 minute plank

3 rounds, AFAP


Friday, May 24, 2013

Abdominal Circuit

So this isn't really a full workout, it's meant to be in addition to another workout. I like to put together circuits so I can mix them to keep workouts interesting.



Here's a brief explanation of the moves. Sit ups everyone knows. For oblique v ups, you lie on your side and bend slightly at the waist to create a 30 degree angle. If you are on your left side, lay your left arm on the floor and put your right hand behind your head. Making sure to keep your legs straight, lift your legs off the ground and bring your torso toward your legs. Once you begin, try to keep your shoulder and feet off the ground. If you can't that's fine, just work towards it.

V sits require you to sit with your knees bent into your chest making sure your feet are off the floor. You can either keep your hands behind your head or extend them out in front of you. Then you will lean back and extend your legs straight out. Pull your legs back into your chest; this is one rep.

Alternate heel touchers require you to lay on your back and bend your knees. With your feet firmly planted you will raise your shoulders off the ground like you are doing a crunch. Then you crunch to the left and touch your heel. Staying up in the crunch position, you reach over to the other side and touch that heel. Each touch is one rep.

Most also know bicycles and scissor kicks.

Pulse ups require you to lie flat on your back with your legs straight in the air. Keeping your hands by your side, thrust your feet into the air, taking care to keep them as straight as possible. Do not thrust them over your head, try to make sure your feet never cross over your belly button.

Russian twists are also pretty standard as are planks. If there are any moves here that I did not explain or you would like a better explanation, Bodybuilding.com has tons of pictures and explanations.

That brief explanation was not so brief haha.

Workout cross-posted  to www.healthsupplementwholesalers.com

Friday, May 17, 2013

Crossfit WOD 2

Well here is another one. I've done this one a few times before. I usually just do max pull ups (for me that's 5) then 45 seconds of squats, another round of max pulls ups, 45 seconds high knees until I get to 25 pull ups. Then I move on to the curls and tricep stuff. Time will differ for most. If you are looking to gain muscle mass, stick with a heavier weight and 10 reps, if you want to get lean get a lighter weight for 12-15 reps. On the last 3 reps you should feel the burn. I also take 30 second breaks in between, but go with what ever is comfortable for you (just don't take too long of a break, otherwise not much is going to happen).


Friday, May 10, 2013

Crossfit Light WOD

So I've progressed beyond your traditional cardio, light weights, whatever people do before their actually really fit phase, but I'm not at the point to really be able to do crossfit workouts. I'm close to being able to take on some of the girls (I'm looking at you Cindy), but not quite. Yesterday I met one of my first bench mark goals, and I'm pretty stoked about it.

I can do 5 pull ups in a row. Oh yes, I am a beast. Well not really, but it was my first big goal. Considering 2 months ago I could only do 1, I am thrilled.

Anyway, I can't reliably do 5 in a row over and over again, so I've been doing my own version. I just require myself to get 5 pull ups before I move on to the next part of the circuit (so the first time I get all 5, then the next time I'll get 4, take a break for 15ish seconds then get the last one before moving on, hopefully that makes sense).

So here is the workout I did yesterday and turned into a fancy graphic just for you:




It took me about 21 minutes, and that too me is just not a long enough workout so I did some shoulder stuff as well:

3 rounds of each before moving on to the next move. 15 reps, 30 second break in between.

Military press
Side raises
Upright rows
Front raises
Shrugs

That got me to about 36 minutes, which is still short of where I like to be (40-50 minutes), but it's acceptable.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Lean Legs Workout

Long time no post. I've decided to pretty up some of my workouts (Pinterest inspired). It's easier to read them as a graphic anyway. Here is the first :)


Thursday, March 28, 2013

DIY Upholstered Headboard

I may have gotten a little ambitious with this one. But I figured I had seen so many of these on Pinterest, I just had to make one myself. This required me to actually assemble the bed legs myself since my husband was gone at the time (this was my project for while he was away).

So, I went to Lowe's to get a 4x8 sheet of plywood 3/4 inch thick cut to 4x6. I drew out my design to scale before attempting it in real life. My husband wanted this shape because he enjoys being difficult or something:


 That's a lot of curvature right there! Anyway, I did the math:

My stupid scanner cut off the 4' that is supposed to be next to that vertical line on the left hand size. The whole thing in total is 4' tall at it's highest point.

Anyway, I drew on my design. I obviously don't have a giant protractor so I took the plywood out to my back deck and tied a piece of string to one of the posts for the railing. Then I pulled the string taut to the top-center of my plywood, held the pencil steady, and drew an arc. The corners follow the same principle except they may actually be small enough to use a real protractor for. To do the corners, I taped the string 6 inches down from the top left corner. Then I found the 90 degree angle and started drawing my circle from there. If you look at my "math" photo, you will see a diagonal line pointing to the center of the corner. This is what I am referring to.  You only need to do this for one side. Once you cut out one side you can use it to trace for the other.

Tools and safety: I got some C-Clamps, safety goggles, a staple gun and 3/8'' staples (asked a store associate for input on length of staple), wood screws, borrowed my neighbor's power drill and borrowed my other neighbor's jigsaw.


Clamping the sucker down. I'm sure there will be many gasping in horror that I'm doing this on my back deck.



Safety goggles. You need them.


Half way there!


Finished cutting it out, now onto upholstering it.


I went to Hancock Fabric and told them what project I was doing. They helped me determine foam thickness and how many layers of batting to get as well as a fabric that would do well for a headboard. When you get the foam you will likely need 2 pieces. I laid my headboard down on the foam and traced the top with a highlighter, then I cut it out. After that I flipped the headboard over and attached the foam (there is supposedly a "good" side to plywood, but neither side of my plywood had any marking to indicate and since I was upholstering, I didn't really care).

Now I used a hot glue gun (a lot of the tutorials I found did this with much success) but a lot of people like to use an adhesive spray. I've heard you need to do this outside since the smell is toxic (or something along those lines) and it will also stick to you like crazy. My glue gun worked just fine.


Then I laid down the batting. My batting was almost too short. Oops.


Staple gun time!


Now I don't have any pictures of trying to get the actual fabric to curve like that, but let me tell you, I was an epic pain. You need to cut it into little strips (be careful not to cut so fat that it shows on the front though) and just tug and staple, tug and staple (you can see what I mean here, I partially followed this tutorial).


Ta-Freaking-Da! Time to add some legs to this sucker. This headboard is 4 feet tall at its max and our bed is 21.5 inches from the ground to the top, which only left 26.5 inches exposed. Not enough, plus you can't attached upholstery to a bed frame. Anyway, I went and got a 2x4 that was 10 feet long and had the guy at Lowe's cut it into 3 pieces (2ft, 2ft, 6ft). I borrowed my neighbor's power drill and positioned each 2 ft piece at either end of the headboard. I left 1 ft exposed, and 1 ft to attach to the headboard. I used 6 wood screws for each leg (which my or may not have been overkill, but that sucker was gonna be stable dammit).

Then I attached the 6 ft piece to the front. I had to line this piece up with my headboard brackets to make sure I could attach it properly. I also had to get a headboard bracket extender because the brackets that came with the bed are meant for a king size headboard and we have a California king (wth Sleep Number, why did you send me the wrong size brackets? Oh you didn't, you just don't make them for California Kings even though you sell California kings? You suck). I just attached the bracket extender with the power drill.


Bracket extender on the other side.


Then I got a nut and bolt and bolted the sucker onto my bed. I suppose I could have drilled a hole through the bed legs and bolted it on that way but there was barely any over lap (less than an inch) and I didn't feel like fighting with the power drill anymore. I asked the guys at Lowe's and they said yep, this'll work and whatyaknow. It did.


And here it is! Notice my DIY reupholstered hope chest haha.


Headboard!


Sunday, January 20, 2013

Reupholstering the Hope Chest

Now that we're all settled into our new house, I decided I should probably decorate it. The bathrooms are complete, the walls now have art, the table has a tablecloth, and the beds have bed spreads and throw pillows. So I decided to actually get to work on our bedroom because it is irritating me to no end. The bed sits on the floor, had no head board, no side tables and the hope chest needed reupholstering. So, first project on the list was to get the feet for the bed. However, it takes a couple of weeks for them to get here so in the mean time, it's reupholstering season.

The hope chest had a print on it from when my mom redecorated my room in a floral theme. The colors actually could have worked, but there was a massive grease stain on it plus a brownish splotch (like soda had been spilled on it or something), so it had to go.

So here is the old hope chest:

Grease Stain:

And here are all the things I needed for the jog: solid fabric, lace fabric, scissors, screw driver, and a staple gun w/staples.

I got my fabric at the old Walmart, where they cut it down to the size I needed, so I only needed to trim a bit of excess fabric. I centered my headboard fabric side down. I pulled the fabric up and folded the frayed edge under. I notice a lot of people don't do this step on their DIY projects; they just tug and staple. I'm sure it's fine in most cases, but if you have a delicate fabric or a really frayed edge, your staples can pull lose if you don't double it over. Anyway, put one staple on each side to secure and then staple all the way around like so:

you may have noticed the funny corners, how astute of you. here will always be a pleat when you fold corners. There is no real "method" of how to do it, just fold it until you find a way you like then repeat it on all four corners. You may need to cut away some of the excess fabric to make this easier (just make sure you leave enough to fold over to the back).

Since I had two layers of fabric, I didn't mind too much what the bottom layer corners looked like:

Then I repeated the process with the lace:





Then I screwed the lip back on and voila! The green is more noticeable in person, but I'm happy with it :)

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Egg White Spinach and Cheese Omelette - And P90X

After completing Insanity 2.5 times (I only did month one the third time through since I got P90X for Christmas), I've officially gotten bored. Between my second and third round I did 1 month of my own workouts put together from various BodyRock (not called the daily hiit), BodyRipped (this girl was featued on bodyRock and has clearly ripped their name, but the workouts are still good), and WarriorZ (that first link is to the unofficial website, but it is very good. This next link is to Zuzanna's official new website since she and the owner of BodyRock divorced), and my pinterest.

*Jump to the omelette recipe and nutrition*

So Insanity lasted me for about 5 months before I needed something new. In all honesty, I still really enjoy month one. Month two is killer, which is fine, but I find myself wondering when it will be done because instead of being tough and fun, it gets touch and boring after the first time through all the videos, at least for me.

Perhaps it is because of the novelty, but I love P90X. Again, this may be because of the newness, but even though the videos are all about an hour (~20 minutes longer than Insanity's month 1 videos), they fly by. The warm up is also much more enjoyable and seems like much more of a traditional warm up than Insanity's mini-workout style warm up.

However, they do seem incredibly easy to me. Insanity is much more cardio based while P90X is focused more on strength training/muscle building. I think I accidentally managed to do this in a fantastic order because cardio shreds my fat but doesn't exactly give me muscle/strength (some, just not a lot). Now that my cardio is way up, turning to muscle building is disconcertingly easy.

Don't get me wrong, I am hella sore the next day. The effects seem to be the reverse; with Insanity I was dying during the workout but not very sore the following day (once I got through the first week or so). With P90X I seem to be soaring through the workouts with ease and then the next day my body is wondering why  it feel like a dump truck ran it over.

My husband is also gone for the next 8 weeks (1 week down!) so I basically have nothing to do but work out. My only real friend around here (we've only been in this area for 3 months) is pregnant so drinking is a no-go and I don't drink alone since that is weird. My friend (she is also married to a marine) has suggested I take up having a glass of wine before bed to unwind. She's been through a deployment and the wine + a warm bath apparently helped her a lot. I am struggling with the loneliness; daytime is fine since I work (oh yea, another new job alert--search engine optimization stuff) but once it gets to be around 16:00 I have to start thinking about dinner and then I get mopey because I know it's just going to be for me. Cooking for one kind of sucks since almost all recipes are geared for two so I either have leftovers I never eat or I spend forever restructuring the recipe for one. I refuse to eat like crap just because I am a mopey moperson.

On that note, P90X has been great at solving that issue. The program comes with a nutrition guide that I am
supposed to follow everyday. I don't since I have a lot of dietary issues that simply don't allow me to eat half of the things the diet plan suggests. However, they do have a lot of recipes that are great. I do modify them from time to time but the modifications are all healthy (like adding spinach or swapping our different fruit/veggies). So without further ado and whining on my part, here is the egg white and cheese omelette from P90X that I modified to not be quite so humongous and with some color (the spinach makes this look much less like a giant white circle).



Egg White, Spinach, and Cheese Omelette

Cals Tot Fat Sat Fat Trans Sodium Potein
4 eggs whites 68 0.24 0 0 2.2 14.4
3 oz of moz 120 9 5.25 0 255 10.5
1.5 tbsp skim milk 8.5 0 0 0 11.25 0.84
1/2 cup fresh spinach 3 0.06 0.009 0 12 0.43
dash onion flakes
dash cayenne pepper
dash pepper
Total 199.5 9.3 5.259 0 280.45 26.17
Boil water, remove from heat and add spinach to wilt. Mix egg whites, mozzarella, milk, spinach, and spices. Spray small pan with non-stick spray, set to medium heat. Add omlet mix. Cook as desired*.





TAH DAH!


*I personally don't like a liquid center, some people do but it gives me the willies. I let mine cook almost all the way through then flip it and cook the remaining raw looking parts.