Blogging Day 131: So Much For 10" of Snow

Unfortunately or fortunately, whichever way you wish to see it. From the time I posted my last blog til yesterday evening, my 8-10" turned into barely an inch. Very disappointing. I was hoping my Christmas break could extend just a bit. No such luck :(


Veggie & Fruit Renewal: With the Holidays I found myself not keeping track, so I am going to start this all over again! I did good today, I had my salad, green beans with dinner and while playing D&D chewed on some carrots. Since, I have started all over again, I going to add one tiny thing. Drink 8 glasses ( 16oz?) of water a day. This should be interesting because I am very picky about my water. I am not picky about a lot of things, but water is one of them.

Here we go again!

<3 Zerila

Blogging Day 129: Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I do apologize I have not blogged in the past 10 days. I got distracted with Christmas and then when I had time, my computer got infected with a very nasty virus! Now Christmas is done and I have FINALLY fixed my computer.

Everytime I get a virus, I learn something new about my computer. This time I learned how to use Safe Mode, to run "regedit", and how to do a system recovery back to a certain date. It was lots of fun, long hours doing battle with a virus, but eventually I kicked it's butt.

Christmas was wonderful. We had a light snow this morning and we are currently waiting to get slammed with 6 to 10"  of snow. Curious, to see if I will be going to church tomorrow, let alone work on Monday.

Whatever you are doing tonight, I hope you had a Merry Christmas and if you have are being plastered with snow, stay safe and warm. If I do get plastered with snow, I'll be sure to keep you updated. Last year we had about three feet of snow.  One snow day is fine, but after the third day of being stuck in your house, cabin fever sets in and all of sudden running around

Anyway, at this very moment my two brothers, mom and I are playing D&D. I keep my sparkly dice in my Hello Kitty Tupperware, because I am a hardcore gamer ;).

Just to make it even more geek-tastic we are playing Final Fantasy 7 fight music for our regular battles.

When we have a boss we play the Final Fantasy 7 boss battle music. Hard core baby!!

Of course, we can not forget our victory music!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! Remember: Jesus Christ is the only reason for the season!

<3 Zerila

Blogging Day 119: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Trailer

It is true the trailer is finally out!!!!!!!!!!!


I am so excited!!


Plus Zombies!


Definitely a must see!


Veggie & Fruit Update:


I learned today that my can of peaches is 3 servings of fruit. I forgot the salad last night, even though I said I was going to make it at the end of the last blog. Unfortunately, I was so tired, I went straight to bed after I posted last night's blog. I did have two servings for dinner, I had one serving eating clementines ( it took about 5 to eat a whole serving. Unfortunately I grabbed a bad batch.) and I load my salami sandwich with tons of vegetables to get one serving.


FYI- I live in Maryland and it is cold enough here now that we have been getting dusted with snow three times in the past week. Tomorrow they are calling for 1-2 inches! Should be fun driving home from work tomorrow!

Anyone else getting snow?

<3 Zerila

Blogging Day 118: DIY: Egg Carton Ring Organizer

In my last blog I stated that those sexy ankle boots I bought were going to be the last things I bought myself til Christmas. Not 20 minutes later I was on EBay looking for a ring holder for my rings. I was about to buy them when I remembered that I'm not suppose to be buying anything for myself.


Denied a shopping high, and wanting very badly an organizer for my rings; I started thinking on how I could get around having a ring organizer and not buying it, all at the same time. I am a very crafty person and found this to be a very interesting challenge.

Of course being denied something makes you want it even more. So, with desire eating away at me, my synapses were working on over time. With the extra push in brain power, I came up with today's DIY.

 Of course, being a princess, I could not be satisfied with just a plain hold egg carton. I had to add a little 'bling-bling' princess style.

Let's Begin!

Items you will need:


Cardboard Egg Carton(s)
Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
Stretchy Fabric
Plastic Flat back Gems
Scissors
Nail Polish(optional, explanation later on)

First, you will need to choose where you wish to place your ring organizer and make the egg carton fit.

I decided to use two 18 count egg cartons and to keep  them in a plastic organizer draw I got from Walmart. They fit perfectly, except for the last row, so I cut them out. Do not throw away cut out! You will need them.

If you do have to cut out any part of your carton you will lose the high back edge, which is very important.

That is where the extra pieces come in, because they do still have that high backed edge. Just trim the middle part down, so that it will be easier to attach, and glue to the main carton.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Second, attach the fabric.

I am using two layers of fabric. This was originally a skirt I found at Goodwill. Goodwill is a very good place to find cool fabric on the cheap. The best fabrics have usually been made into the ugliest dresses you have ever seen.

Before I used the fabric, I cut off the elastic and saved it. ALWAYS remember to save elastic, buttons, and zippers when reusing fabric. You never know when you will need them.

Next, lay the fabric over an individual carton. To make sure you have enough fabric, do a test by pushing the fabric in all of the cups. You will want to have atleast three extra inches hanging off each side just incase. It's not an exact science, but you will get an idea of how much fabric you are going to need.

Now, to attach the fabric to the carton, find the exact middle of your fabric and glue it to the bottom of the middle cup. To glue, place glue on the bottom of the cup and then push down on the fabric with your finger.

Now, after the first few times of doing this, I got tired of burning my finger and I found using the top of nail polish bottle works just as good. When using the nail polish bottle, hold for a minute, until the glue is cooled completely. If you remove before, the fabric will rip off the carton.

Now, if that happens turn the carton over, and rip a hole in the bottom and squeeze some glue in. Hold both sides of the carton until cooled. Do not worry about the hole, it will be filled with the glue.

 

After doing the middle cup, work on the surrounding cups and continue branching off until finished. Gently pull on the fabric when gluing down each part, it will make for a tighter fitting holder.

Now once you have done with the top, it is now time to glue down the sides.

Just squeeze on glue to the sides and press down the fabric. Once done, onto the next step, or if you have decided to use two fabrics, a solid and a sheer, like I have, repeat until the second fabric is secure.

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Third step, glue on the jewels.

It is a simple step of putting some glue on the jewel and some on the on the holder. Then press down on the jewel, until the glue cools.

 

I decided on using pink for the bottom of each cup and clear on top.

Once finished, fill up with your stylish rings. The circled  items are future DIYs. The butterfly and top item are barrettes, while the pink bubble beads are a ring. If you remember, the pink flower and pearl ring  is a DIY from Day 103 and the rose ring in the middle is a DIY from Day 68. Check the Labels to the right and click on DIY Fashion to find those posts.

The purple ring is a variation of the pink flowered ring. Instead of using three pearls I used a single button. The pearls just didn't look right with the flower because the purple I used was such a dark color. I thought this button inside the flower kinda looked like the moon in the night sky. 

 I made it for my best buddy at work, except she is on vacation and has to wait til she gets back to have it... I only say this because I know she reads my blog and I wish to torture her as she sleeps til noon and catches up on Glee and Dexter while lazing on the couch with her cats.

Hehehehe, and you thought you would have a week off from my evil ways!  

FYI- Wasn't the season finale of Dexter amazing?!?! Can not wait til next Season!

Veggie and Fruit Update:

I was bad :( I only had four servings on Friday, 2 on Saturday and Sunday and 4 yesterday. Today I had only three. I have noticed three mistakes: One, I must prepare my lunches the night before. Two, I must have a fruit/veggie with every meal. Saving them til the last meal is not an option. Three, I most blog about it. I find it much easier to keep with it if I blog about it that night. Blogging about it keeps me in line because it's easy to lie to myself about things, especially when dieting. So, I'm off to go make my salad for lunch tomorrow and find a fruit for breakfast.

<3 Zerila

Blogging Day 113: Guess Who Bought Sexy Shoes

I DID!!!!

These are Torrid boots I found on ebay.

 I <3 ebay.

Check out my ebay store, the link is on the side under 'Awesome Websites'.

I am officially putting my foot down on shopping. This is my last purchase for myself til after Christmas. This is going to be very hard, but I still need to do alot of shopping for others.

Must think of others and not of my need for more shoes.

Vegetable & Fruit Intake:

No problem today! I had my salad and the three 3 Bean Soup for lunch and had no problem with my sugar levels. I knocked off 3 servings with the salad, for breakfast I had a can of peaches, and for dinner I had an artichoke.



Blogging Day 112: Sephora Game on Facebook

http://www.sephora.com/

Yes, Sephora has succumbed to the pressure and now has a game on Facebook. Why do you care? Well, first it is Sephora and Sephora is awesome. Secondly, right now when you join and play, you can get a limited edition tokidoki tote with any online Sephora purchase, of course while supplies last. Click the link underneath the picture for more information.

When my order comes in the mail, I'll show you what goodies I got and an upclose picture of the tote!

Vegetable & Fruit Eating Journey:
I did it again! I had 3 servings with my salad and then for dinner I had spiced apples (no sugar added) and I had a banana in my pudding for dessert.  I did notice today that I can not only eat a salad for lunch. I felt faint later in the day. I know it was my sugar dropping. I ate some crackers and I was OK. My mom has made a three beans soup, so hopefully adding soup to my meal will take care of adding enough energy for that not to happen again.

Blogging Day 111: Polyvore Creations

As, I am sure that you noticed I changed my title picture this weekend. I ended up using polyvore to create the picture because, after searching and searching I could not find a pre-made title that I liked. Tired of looking around and finding nothing, I decided to create my own.

It is basically a collage of everything I enjoy. The red dragon, is the Dragon Age: Origins logo of sorts. Below that, is the cover of Pride and Prejudice. I am going to point out that the latest Pride and Prejudice movie with Keira Knightley was not my favorite, in fact after I was done watching it I was so mad. The end of the movie is suppose to be a double wedding, not a wedding night scene! My favorite is the one with Colin Firth(yummy). I'm worried what they will do to my absolutely favorite book, Jane Eyre. I have seen the trailer and it looks pretty good. My favorite version so far is the 1997 version.

Anyway, back to the picture, it has little cupcakes, which I enjoy making. Make-up, which I am fastly becoming a make-up whore. Sephora is my weakness! Along with Lancome, and MAC looks like it is becoming a contender. Oh, I can't forget Urban Decay! The flower is the best DIY representation I could find. It is not a complete representation of things I enjoy, but it has quite a few.

This picture is an entry for the Tory Burch Contest, which I believe ended earlier today. No matter though, there are three others to enter. The contest was for the resort collection. I loved this sequin top, I have a weakness for shiny things.



This was for the Michael Kors "Glam up Your Holiday" Contest. This contest is still currently going, and there are six days left to enter. You basically had to pick out two pieces from his holiday collection and show them off. Sometimes, all basic black needs is one color to stand out to finish an outfit. I have noticed that pins have come back in big  lately. A co-worker wears them all the time and they look amazing on her. I unfortunately, have yet perfected the art, but I hope to do so eventually.

The last contest that I entered is the 'What is on Your Wish List?" contest. You pick the items that you want on your wish list and then the winners are picked based on their descriptions.  This is what I had for my description:



The most annoying thing about Christmas shopping is that when you go shopping for other people, all you see are items for yourself. Alas, you cannot buy them because all your money is suppose to be going towards others. Unfortunately, all you can do is dream about that new DKNY leather jacket you see in Lane Byrant. You must remember to bring wipes next shopping trip, so you can wipe the drool off the case that holds the new Lancome holiday colors. The excuse, that it is winter time and those short boots that Torrid is selling would be perfect to keep your delicate princess toes warm and fashionable at the same time, just isn’t going to cut it. You must remind yourself that even though that the Tarina Tarantino heart necklace matches the color of your eyes, does not mean that you can’t see without it. Let’s not even begin to rationalize the fact that if you did buy that sewing machine, imagine what awesome DIY Fashion projects you could create as presents. Of course you know that lovely sequined Juicy Couture bag would satisfy you more than any man could, so if you did buy it, you could get rid of that pesky boyfriend and that would mean one less gift.
Yet, before passing by each item, you slowly count to ten, telling yourself that you are a strong warrior woman and can resist such temptation, and walk away. Hoping maybe someone out there loves you, because it certainly won’t be that pesky boyfriend, and we are not even going to begin to talk about what he got you last year. *hint, hint*

Granted, that is probably not what they were looking for, but I thought it was pretty funny. This contest I would definitely advise you to join and don't forget to give a good description. I found it fun to go searching the net for things I wanted and knew I probably wouldn't get, but dreamed that I could.

Check out all the contests @ polyvore.com.

5 Vegetables and Fruits a Day Situation:

I managed it very well. I knocked 3 servings with a huge salad I made consisting off: red onion, red and yellow pepper, cucumbers, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, carrots and mushrooms. I added in a bit of light ranch dressing. I cut up the a lot of the vegetables that way it would be easier to make the salads the night before, but we ate a lot of them for dinner and that is when I knocked out the other two serving. My brother cooked steamed brussel sprouts and I snacked on cucumbers. Do I feel any different? No, not really because I had some other stuff I should not be eating and eating is not like mathematics. An equal positive and negative do not equal out to zero. Even though you wish it could.

<3 Zerila

Blogging Day 110: Habit Forming



http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/profile?id=876652



I have been going over my life, and I have realized I have some pretty unhealthy habits. I eat a lot of junk food, I play on the computer more then I should ( ex. wasting a whole entire weekend to Dragon Age), my room and my car are in chaos, staying up late at night, and many other unhealthy habits that if I listed I would never get to my point.



Granted, junk food is awesome. It tastes so good, and it is not hard to prepare. It usually consists of rip it out of a bag, throw it in the microwave and consume. Sometimes, all you have to do is unwrap and let the nirvana of chocolaty goodness melt in to your mouth...(wipes away drool).



Yummy...

Anyway, before I get off track, I came across this blog and I feel inspired! Feeling overwhelmed in starting them all at once, I am going to start with eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.





http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/profile?id=876652



I have heard that it takes 30 days to form a habit. I am unsure whether this is true or not, but 30 days is what I plan on doing. So, for next thirty days I will add a tiny few sentences at the end of each of my blogs on how I accomplished eating my vegetables/fruits. Then after 30 days I will continue with my vegetable eating ways and begin another healthy habit.



Does this mean I will stop blogging dessert recipes? No, unfortunately baking is my speciality and I am close to perfecting apple pie, and it would be a crime not to share that with you. Besides, you will want to know how to make tasty desserts and feed them to everyone else. That way they will fatten up and then you will be the skinny one. I am currently trying this at work, they all think I'm being super nice when I bring in cookies... little do they know my mad scheme ;p

Besides, enjoying desserts everyonce in awhile isn't bad; and don't think for one second that I have grasped the concept of moderation. I know for a fact I did not become a plus-size curvy princess on eatting apples, it was the apple pie :)

So, off I go onto my journey into creating healthy habits.

Here's hoping I don't run into Zombies.

<3 Zerila

Blogging Day 106: Ketchup Carrot Cookies



You read it right! Ketchup Carrot Cookies! YUMMY IN ONES TUMMY!

Do you have a slight addiction to the red stuff? Do you only eat french fries as instruments to get the ketchup in your body? Does the sight of an empty ketchup bottle fill you with dread? Have you seriously considered getting that t-shirt that says "I put Ketchup on my Ketchup"?

These are the perfect cookies for you!

Now, for those you answered no to all of the above questions. First, weirdo... Secondly, the ketchup adds a nice molasses spice kick to a classic recipe. Do not fear the ketchup, embrace the ketchup.

Unfortunately, this is not my recipe. This recipe and many other ketchup filled  creations can be found at:

http://www.heinzketchup.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?id=62

I found this recipe when we had a 'Most Unique Ingredient' contest at work. When people found out what I placed in the cookies, they were flabbergasted because they tasted so good. People request me to make them all the time.

Now,if your still not convinced that this is a definite cookie to make, I think you should just still make them to share with others. Watching peoples' faces when you tell them that you put ketchup in their cookies! The most fun you will have all month. 

Torturing co-workers... ahhh the joys of life.

<3 Zerila

Blogging Day 105: Breaded Pork Loin with Mustard

I am a huge fan of breaded meat. Unforunately, most of the time it involves frying in oil, which just adds more fat.  Instead of using oil, this recipes says to rub the meat with mustard.  I used regular mustard, but I'm sure dijon, honey mustard, or any kind well do.



Alright, let's begin!

 

Ingredients:

Pork Loin

1/3c. mustard

3/4c. Italian bread crumbs
Wax paper (optional)

First, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

I set my meat up on a wax paper sheet, because this is going to get pretty messy. The wax paper is going to make it very easy to move around.

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I am not going to lie to you, this is the messiest part. Basically your are going to need to rub the whole pork loin with mustard. You probably could use a sauce brush, but the fastest way is to use your hands. Do not worry, you can always wash it off when your done.

Once done with spreading the mustard everywhere, pick-up and set the pork loin aside. Using, the wax paper pick-up securely by the corners.

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With a clean sheet of wax paper, spread out your bread crumbs.

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Drop the pork loin in the bread crumbs and proceed to cover the entire pork loin with crumbs.

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Once done, cook the pork loin for 30-45minutes. The pork loin is not done until the middle reaches 160 degrees, before that and you might have "extra" flavoring in your meat.

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Once the pork loin has reached the desired temperature, slice and serve.

I served this to my family and got a 4 out of 5 stars in yumminess.

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Now, seeing this as an awesome and less fattening way to add bread crumbs to food, I tried this on our veggies.

A good idea, but unfortunately, the bread crumbs did not stick and flavoring did not go very well. From my family it was given 2 out of 5 stars. An experiment, that unfortunately did not play out well, but maybe next time.

Have fun! Remember: Be creative, Be Imaginative and Make it your own!

<3 Zerila

 

Blogging Day 104: Fun with the Dogs

I was out raking leaves with my dogs the other day and I just had to take pictures.

I would throw up a pile of leaves and my dog, Jasmine, a Chesapeake Retriever, would try to grab them.  It was hilarious! She wouldn’t just jump up in there air, she would volt and sometimes do flips. Unfortunately, I was not able to get pictures of the flips, but the ones below are pretty awesome.

The other dog in the pictures is Angel, an American Bulldog.  I tried to throw leaves up for her and she would just look at me weird.

Blogging Day 103: DIY: English Rose Ring

Lovely picture of the front of the ring on a candle.

 I was inspired by the English Rose to create this ring.

http://www.growquest.com/rose%20section/english%20rose%20victorian_spice.htm

 I wish I could grow these. Everytime I try to grow roses, I end up killing them. 

Alirght, let's begin!

You will need the following items!



Scissors

Needle and Creme Colored thread to match your Pearls

Candle

3 Pearls

Adjustable Ring with a Mount

Craft Glue (I tried with a glue gun, but it will not stay on the ring)

Pink Silky Fabric ( I used an old shirt that I stained.  I'm not sure if it will make a difference or not, but the shirt was 100% polyester.)

First step is  cut out circle like shapes of fabric that will make up the petals of your rose. You will want to start with a large circle and gradually grow smaller. Having the different shapes will create the petal effect. I cut out eight layers, but you can have as many layers as you want.

Then you will want to light your candle and while holding the center of the circle, hold the edges close to the fire, so the edges will burn. You do not want the edges to touch the flame or get to close, for if you do the edges will blacken. If you do accidently blacken the edges, just cut off the edge and re-try. I accidently burnt my edges three times.

The reason you want to hold the circle in the middle is to force the fabric to create a bowl like shape when burning the edges, like the picture below.

After you burn the edges, arrange the circles into the english rose. Once you have the flower in perfect order, thread in one stitch to hold the rose together while you arrange the pearls. Then drop the three pearls in the center, and once you see where you want them , sew the pearls in.





Once you have sewn on the pearls on, glue the rose onto the ring mount. Let the ring dry over night, just to make sure your ring is secure.

Once dry, it is ready to wear!

Have fun! Remember: Be creative, Be Imaginative and Make it your own!

<3 Zerila