Look at the size of that thing!

Sometimes I forget about Instagram, sometimes I use it to take pictures of bomb outfits I wore to work, and sometimes, on special and rare occasions, my parents bring home the world's largest zucchini and I hold it like a baby while my little sis snaps a pic.

I'd like to get better at taking pictures of everyday life and am hoping to remember that Instagram is conveniently located on my phone.  This week is one I'll actually get to enjoy more than most that happened this summer, so I might have actual adventures to photograph.

I'm officially down to one fulltime job, the one that I'm planning to pursue as a career.  It's very exciting, but at the same time, I'm a little disappointed because I'm only working 48 hours and this will go down to about 42 once I'm out of training.  To make up for the lack of being a workaholic, I'm subbing as a para at the middle school on off days and times.

Anyway, just thought I'd post a quick update on my life and warn you that I might try to get crafty and photograph-y this week.  Be prepared!

I like saying "hur," not "hair"

There's a saying somewhere out there about how you always want what you can't have.  That's been me for the past two months in a nutshell.  It's been about a month since one of my closest gal pals got married and honored me with being a bridesmaid.  It's about another month until my best friend gets married and I get to stand beside her on her big day.  What do these two things have to do with wanting what you can't have, you ask.  The obvious answer is a man, ha ha.  Luckily, I'm pretty content in that area and all that I want is some crazy hair.

When I was in high school, and college for that matter, I went through some pretty drastic colors (at least for small town North Dakota) and some pretty "creative" cuts.  Being in weddings this summer has forced me to stay au natural for longer than I'd like.  Every where I look, I see amazing colors.  The trend I'm crushing on right now is ombre hair.

I have dark hair, so the natural jump would be to lighten the ends, but one of my co-workers currently has her hair like that, so it's out of the question.  I'm going to go all-out when I get mine done at the end of October.

Here are some of my photo inspirations.

All taken from Lua P's LOOKBOOK

Could not find a source on this one, found it on Pinterest

I couldn't find this one on the website Pinterest linked to...

Pinterest, failing me once again, said the link was removed due to being either spam or inappropriate content...I'm going to assume she's a Suicide Girl

Too Many Choices

This week has been one of change.  I feel like life is rushing past me and I'm missing it.  I want to do everything.  I want to have 500 lives.  I want to be a teacher.  I want to work part time jobs forever, traveling around the country, the world.  I want to be a manager.  I want to own my own store.  I want to drop it all and move to Europe.  I want to be in love again.  I want to be single for awhile.  I want everything the way it used to be.  I just want to move forward.

I hate how making a choice, a decision, means NOT choosing things.  I've picked my path and I'm so excited for the adventure and unknown that awaits me, but there is something safe about being stagnant.  Part of me wishes I could rewind the past four or five years of my life and change this, or that, say yes to someone, and run away from another, but I obviously don't have the power to do this so it's a waste even thinking about it.

Everything happens for a reason.  God, how many times I have I even blogged those very words?  I truly, deeply, whole-heartedly, believe it though, with every stinking fiber of my being.  It's hard to feel that way though when you drive by your past and find yourself reminiscing.  

Anyway, enough sappy stuff.  Life is actually going very well.  I'm just at a crossroads and feel myself trying to look as far down each path as possible before making a decision...that's a lie, I've made a decision, but I can still glimpse the other path through the trees and it's fading and becoming fainter...that's what scares me, being, almost, to the point of no return.

Map Coasters

Recently, two good friends of mine got married and I wanted to get them an amazing gift.  Part of the idea came from creativity, part of it came from the simple fact that everything on the registry was gone. What was born were these map coasters, spinning off the "where he was born, where she was born, where they met/fell in love, where they married" posters that I've seen on Pinterest.

Supplies include:

4 White Tiles ($.13 each at Menards)

1 piece of black felt ($.29 at Michaels)

Maps...I used two just based on where cities were located, and overlapping of squares

Scissors

Pencil (for tracing)

Foam brush

Mod Podge

Crystal Clear Poly spray

Glue gun

Step 1. Trace tiles on map, trying to keep desired city in middle

Step 2. Trace tile on felt, I was able to get all four backings from one piece

Step 2.5. Trim felt on backing to make sure it doesn't stick out when viewed from front

Step 3. Mod Podge the tile and place the trimmed map on top

Step 4. Mod Podge the map...Reapply after drying, I did 5 coats

Step 5. Head outside

Step 6. Spray the clear, poly spray on top of coasters

Step 6. Do a 2nd coat if you're paranoid like me, allowing dry time between coats

Step 7. Personalize the felt if you feel the need to

Step 8. Pair up the felt with the proper coaster/tile

Step 9. Hot glue back of felt.  I originally tried to glue the back of tile, but since the felt pieces weren't exact, there were places where the glue stuck out.

Step 10. Admire your handiwork

Crockpot Chicken & Peppers Salad

My manager at work recommended this recipe as a quick, healthy meal option.  I modified it some, but think I maybe should have stuck with her original idea.  First, I'll share what I did, then I'll give my ideas on how to improve it.

First up--ingredients.

Chicken Breast Slices (you can also cut up your own)

Red, green, and yellow pepper

Italian Seasoning...I chose mine based on calories

Baby Spinach, or really any type of greens that you enjoy for salad

Cut up the red pepper

Cut up the yellow pepper

Cut up the green pepper while watching Netflix

Throw peppers in crockpot

Throw chicken in crockpot

Add Italian dressing to taste

Mix peppers, chicken, and dressing

Put on low and go work an 8 hour shift where you're paid too little to do too much

Ready to eat

After it was cooked, I put it on spinach leaves to make a salad.  I found that the peppers had marinated too long and were soggy (I used almost the entire bottle of dressing).  

The original recipe called for individually preparing what you'd like for you salad, putting it in tin foil, and placing it on the grill until cooked.  I think grilling would help the peppers stay crunchy.  I also think that the next time I try this will be will far less dressing, probably a cup or so, on top of chicken and then I'll place the peppers on top of chicken and let it chill in the crockpot with mixing all the ingredients.

Despite some shortcomings, I felt like the meal was still very delicious.  I love coming home and being able to eat, and having prepared this before work, it meant that I didn't have to go to the old standby of ice cream sandwiches for supper.