Something New (updated)

Lately I've started my hand at crocheting. I don't know if any of you crochet or not, but I've been slowly teaching myself. I'd learned the single and double crochet a long time ago, but never actually made anything. I decided I wanted to start small, so I began making little squares (about 4x4 inches or so) in a few colors that I will eventually sew into a baby blanket when the time comes. I am about a quarter of the way finished with those squares (it's gonna take me awhile!) The other day I decided I wanted to step up my game, so yesterday I made a hat! And it turned out really well!!!

Now I think I'm going to make a fun little flower to go by the brim since my hubby says he wouldn't be caught dead in a crochet hat :( But I'll either keep the hat for myself or give it as a gift to one of my friends or family members once I get that flower on it :) I found a tutorial on Pinterest that allows you to make interchangeable flowers so I might try that!

I found some chunky orange yarn in my stash, so I'm currently working up a scarf, providing I have enough yarn to make it a sufficient length. If not, then I guess I get to frog it and make something else! :)

Do you guys like to crochet? What are some of your favorite patterns? I would love to see some of your creations or favorite patterns, so link them up in the comments!! I'll update this post once I have that flower done and on my hat!

**UPDATE: Here is my finished hat!

This picture above shows the four flowers that I made to go on it. The center of the flower attached to the hat is a button that the flowers just slip over!

Job Searching

Isn't job searching the worst? I've been looking for 8 months and still haven't found anything. Oh, I guess that's not entirely true. I've applied to almost a dozen jobs in my profession, but I have only had 3 interviews, two of which were taken by fellow graduates and one I never heard back from. The rest of the applications have gone unanswered. A simple "sorry we're not interested" would suffice, but still nothing. Part of the issue, I believe, is the area that I'm looking in. My husband and I own a home and he has a fantastic job, so we're definitely not moving, and with the economy, I don't want to drive too far, so I have a very small area in which I can find a job (about a 30 mile radius or so).

I am so bored with the mundane job that I currently have (and have had since I was a junior in high school!). I'm willing right now to take a similar position but in a different field, preferably in health care, where I may be able to gain networking connections and eventually find a full time position as a dietitian. Luckily, I do know a dietitian who is pregnant with twins and about to go on maternity leave for a few months, so I'll get to take over her job, but only temporarily and only 2 days a week. -sigh-. Are any of you struggling with finding a job? The economy is terrible right now. And the sad part is that I would love to be able to be a stay at home mommy (eventually once we have a baby) but we just can't manage to make my husband's salary work for some reason, which we really should be able to. We're cutting back everywhere we can think of. Are you making one income work? Are you a SAHM? What tips and tricks do you have for making one income work?

Oh, did I mention that I have school loans about to start having to be paid next month and hubby needs a new car? Uggggh.

The Holidays are Coming!

I'm soooo excited for the holidays! I love everything about them (I feel like I've told you this before, haha!). This year I'm going to be making a lot of Christmas gifts, how about you guys? I find that people tend to love homemade gifts because they are made by someone they love and are made with love. Sometimes they are also personalized for that person, be it color, pattern, or and initial/name on it. I have bought so much fabric from Jo-Ann when it's on sale that I have waaaay more than I can even imagine doing anything with. This is where Christmas comes in :) I also have a few birthdays in the next few weeks that I'll probably make some gifts for too. Some of my favorite gifts to make and give include pillows (easy and always a great gift!), scarves, rice packs, grocery bag holders, purses/bags, stuffed animals, glasses cases, among many others. What are some of your favorite gifts to make? Have you started making Christmas gifts yet? I have! :)

'Tis the season (almost!) Once November 1st hits, Christmas music is fair game! And after Thanksgiving, the tree and decorations are going up! How about you guys? When do your decorations go up? Some people I know will be putting theirs up November 1st. I think that's a little too early, but some people really REALLY love the holidays I guess :)

Family Meal Time

Eating together as a family is getting harder and harder with recent times. Moms and dads both work and don't get home until 5:30-6:00 or later, so dinner has to be fast. Often times it's eaten in front of the television. Children have soccer, dance, football, softball, basketball, karate, piano, band, etc. and therefore aren't home. Teens want to be out with their friends instead of home for dinner. If everyone is so busy, then why even bother trying to have dinner (or any meal) as a family? Research shows many benefits to eating together as a family including reduced childhood obesity, which is affected by a child's eating habits. This article by Today's Dietitian discusses the benefits of eating together and tips on how to make family mealtime more effective and easier to do. Some of the benefits listed in the article include:
• a 12% reduction in the risk of being overweight;

• a 20% decline in the consumption of unhealthful foods;

• a 35% decrease in disordered eating, such as bingeing, purging, using diet pills, fasting, and skipping meals; and

• a 24% increase in the consumption of healthful foods.

It talks about parental influence, the role of television, and includes tips for increasing family meal time. These tips include the areas of in the kitchen, at the dinner table, and outside the home. It has fantastic tips and this article is written by a dietitian/nutrition expert. It utilitzed many scientific references to ensure that it is science based and evidence backed. It is an excellent read, especially for moms and dads who both work, are single parents, or have children who are involved in extracurricular activites!

I hope you all enjoy the read!

Kara

*this is NOT a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. :)

Holiday Eating

Hey everyone!

     It's getting closer and closer to the holidays! I'm super excited! I love everything about Thanksgiving and Christmas! Family, friends, yummy food, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Christmas shopping, Christmas music, presents (hey, who doesn't like getting and giving presents?!), decorations, the list goes on and on. The one thing that many people (myself included!) have trouble with is holiday eating. There's so much delicious food and you want to eat some of it all! How do we go about doing that without expanding our waistlines? I'm going to give you a couple of different ways to go about it.

     One way to combat the holiday weight gain is to eat the foods that you like, but to do it smartly! Start with the veggies (try to avoid ones coated in cheese or other sauces) and some turkey breast or other lean meat. If you like those veggie dishes that are saucy or cheesy (like green bean casserole...yum!) make sure to follow my next bit of advice: small small portions! Take your dinner plate and start with the veggie trays, steamed veggies, turkey breast (little to no gravy!!) and then add the other sides like stuffing, sweet potato casserole (yes, this counts as a syrupy, sugary, smothered veggie dish...just look at all those marshmallows!), and others in tablespoon size to 1/4 cup portions (a quarter to half a baseball, just enough for a few bites) on your plate and stop when the main part of your plate is full. Eat the food on your plate and stop when you're full. Wait an hour or two and see if you're still hungry. If so, then at this point go back for seconds or dessert. If you're wanting multiple desserts, the tablespoon to 1/4 cup portion rule still applies, but this time with a small dessert plate. If there is food you still didn't get to try that you wanted too (does your family make a whole buffet of food?!) then make up a to-go plate if you can and take it home with you to eat the next day.

     I know, I know. You're all thinking "Kara, you're freaking crazy if you think I'm only going to eat a tablespoon or a quarter cup of my favorite foods!!" BUT my response to you is: Do you want to ward off weight gain during the holiday season? My guess is the answer is yes. And this is also only one way to do so, as I started my last paragraph with. You can also limit the number of foods you eat (ie. only turkey, stuffing, fresh veggies and pumpkin pie or foods that your family only makes for the holidays), or limit your feasting to only Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day. Only eat all of those goodies in large quantities on those two days. Afterall, it's only one day, it won't burst your waistline (although it may feel like it ;)) The average person eats about 3,000 calories on each of these holidays, which is not quite equivalent to the number of calories needed to gain ONE pound, so even though you feel as though your belly is super bloated, you probably haven't even gained one extra pound, let alone the 10 that people like to exaggerate about :) Eat all your leftovers in normal portions and you'll be fine! :)

Sorry for the extra long post! :)

Stepping Up

Hey guys!

So if you've read my profile, you know that I am a registered and licensed dietitian (RD, LD) or if you don't know what that is, I'm an expert in all things nutrition. I have decided to start incorporating this aspect of my life into my blog. I'll post nutrition tidbits and advice, yummy & healthy recipes, and easy lifestyle changes to help make you a healthier you.

I love dessert, so don't worry about me being one of those dietitians or nutritionists who declare sweets off limits. Everything can be included in your food for the day in moderation! Moderation is the key! Can you have a cookie today? Sure! Should you eat a half dozen of them? No, probably not. How about ice cream, cake, pie, pumpkin roll, brownies, etc? Absolutely, just not all of them every day and not in large amounts. 1/2-1 cup of ice cream, a small (2x2 inch) piece of cake or brownie, 1/2 inch piece of pumpkin roll, a 2 inch piece of pie. You get the idea. Small and only 1 or 2 a day. I also don't recommend making it an everyday habit, but a 1-3 times per week treat. All other foods should also be eaten in moderation and smaller portions than you typically see. Restaurants are notorious for portions that are 2-4 times as large as they should be, but that's another day ;)

My niche in the nutrition world is weight loss. It's by far my favorite aspect of the nutrition world and the area that comes easiest to me to educate and help clients with. I know a lot about other areas as well including disease states, diabetes, weight maintenance, lifestyle changes, etc. I am more than happy to answer any questions that you have for me too! Just leave a comment or send an email my way!

As an end to this post, I'll leave you with a couple of recipesrecipe that I found over at Chef In Training and The 36th Avenue for some fun (and not laden with sugar!) treats.

First up is from Chef In Training with a Jalapeno Popper Cheese Ball at just over 100 calories for 1/12 of the ball, so invite some friends over for a party and serve this with some fresh veggies for a yummy snack!

The second recipe I'm going to share is found at The 36th Avenue for Skinny Pumpkin Dip! Yum! Make this with sugar free pudding as suggested below the recipe and it is just over 100 calories for 1/6th of the dip!!! Mmmmm <3 A perfect fall treat when served with graham crackers broken into little rectangles!

That's all I have for you today! Remember to send me any questions or comments you have!

Kara :)

Tutorial: Tissue Ghosts

I promised you all a tutorial, so here it is! I was decorating the house for Halloween and realized that I had not a lot of decorations at all. Christmas, on the other hand, well, that's a different story ;) I set about decorating with what I had and realized that it still looked kind of plain. We have a wall decal tree above our front door in a large open space. I was talking with my husband about how I wish we had something to "decorate" the tree. Then it hit me: those little ghosts that people make out of trash bags and hang in their trees outside and those little tootsie pop ghosts that I used to make as a kid using a tissue and a magic marker! I ran and got some Kleenex, some scrap fabric, and set to work! This is how I did it!

Gather your supplies:
Fabric scraps (for stuffing)
Tissues
Twine or String
Sharpie
Tape & Scissors (Not pictured...cause I forgot to grab them)

You could definitely make these permanent decorations or at least more sturdy, but I wanted it done *now* so I just crafted with what I had. Next time I would use some white cotton, fleece, or flannel instead of tissues and probably some black felt instead of a sharpie, but hey, it worked. 

**Warning, this tutorial has TONS of pictures! :)**

First grab a small scrap of fabric to use for stuffing and roll or mold it into a rough ball.

Then wrap your tissue around it to form a ghost!

Cut a piece of string about 12 inches long and tie it around the base of the ghost's head, creating the knot toward the end of the string (I just tied once at this point, not a full knot, but you can create a full knot if you'd like)

Now take the long end and tie it in a knot on or close to your first knot to create a loop as shown.

I found that it was easier to hang these guys if I taped the string to the back of the head about half way. If you're using fabric instead of tissues, you may want to put a couple of stitches here instead of tape to secure the loop.

Use your sharpie (or black felt) to create a ghosty face. I did some of mine like above and I made a few with angry eyebrows for fun. I could have made a wider variety of faces, but I wanted them done quickly so I could put them up! :) And that's it!

Now go make a whole bunch of them (you can see some of my angry faced ghosties above ;))

Hang them up wherever you want. I put mine in my tree above the front door.

Here is my front entry! (my camera couldn't get the whole area :( )

I love decorating! I made the wreath on the door (I have a tutorial for it here) and added the yarn covered initial this year before I hung it up.

Hope you guys enjoy this! I'd love to see your creations, so leave a link in the comments section if you post them on your blog or somewhere else online!

Kara

Halloween

Let me start by saying I LOVE holidays! All of them. They are so festive and they give me an excuse to bake and decorate. I have a couple of tutorials to show you, but I haven't gotten a chance to upload my photos yet, so they will have to wait another day or two. In the mean time, I thought I would share some Halloween crafts and recipes that I have found in the blogosphere that I would like to make. Some of them may have to wait another year or two, but I will make them. Eventually. :) So this is what I like to call my Halloween Round Up!

Clockwise from the top left:

1. Decorating for Halloween with Masks by Marti Gras Outlet

2. Halloween Countdown Calender by Cutesy Crafts

3. 8 Instant Eek! Ideas by Martha Stewart

4. Halloween Party Invitations by Pottery Barn Kids

5. Spider Web Halloween Countdown by Cutesy Crafts

6. Pumpkin Yarn Wreath by Lizzy Designs on Etsy - This is a good inspiration to make your own or you can buy it from her Etsy shop!

Clockwise from Top Left:

1. Easy Monster Cookie Sticks by The Decorated Cookie

2. Funny Bones by Epicurious, exerpt from Ghoulish Goodies

3. Monster Cups by Collecting the Moments...One by One - used as part of a Monster Party

4. Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting by Taste of Home

5. Mini Pumpkin Pies by Makes and Takes - I bet you could make just about any mini pie like this...think Dutch Apple, Cherry, Peach, Blueberry, Mixed Berry...the possibilities are endless!!!

6. Candy Corn Rice Krispies by Glorious Treats - She also has tons of other cute candy corn inspired treats. She also uses the same method of these Krispie Treats to make Watermelon Slice Treats in the summer! Cute!

Ok, there you have it! I have TONS of other fun Fall and Halloween crafts and treats over on my Fall & Halloween Crafts Pinterest board.

Check back in a couple of days for a tutorial! :)

Wisdom...Or So They Say

     I found out on Tuesday that I have to have my wisdom teeth out...again. When I was 18 I had my lower wisdom teeth out and the doctor said he wasn't going to bother with the upper ones, because they were so high up in my gums, that there was little chance that they'd ever bother me. Well, 5 years later they are irritating nerves and causing jaw pain, so guess who gets to go through that lovely experience all over again! This is what I looked like last time after about a week or two (I'm the one in pink):

Notice the chipmunk cheeks? This is after the swelling had gone down some. I love that group of girls, by the way :)

     I'm getting them removed two weeks from today and I'm trying to come up with a list of foods that I'll be able to eat once they're out so that I can stock up this coming weekend. So far I have: jello, sugar-free pudding, fruit smoothies, mashed bananas, yogurt, soup, Carnation Instant Breakfast, and frozen veggies that are cooked really well so that I can smash them up. I can't use a straw for at least a week after surgery :(

     What are/were some of your favorite foods to eat when you had your wisdom teeth out? If you haven't had them out, do you have any creative suggestions of soft foods that are easy to swallow with little to no chewing???

Kara

It's been sooooooo long!!!

Hey all!
It's been forever since I posted on here, I apologize. I have taken the last 8-9 months off because I finished my last semester of college (which was crazy!!!) and then I had to finish up wedding planning and get married!!! :) My husband (!) and I were married on June 1st of this year and have spent the last few months getting used to living together and making our house our home <3 

Did I mention that we went to beautiful Punta Cana for our honeymoon? It was amazing!!!

I've also been crafting up a storm lately, so I'm going to try to start posting some of my projects up here and tutorials for some of them. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of any of my already completed projects along the way, but some of them are rather easily explained and completed :) I'll try to make some complete tutorials of new projects in the coming weeks and some of the items I have made will be for sale as well! You can check out my Facebook page and Etsy shop (etsy only has a couple of things right now) for items that I have for sale. I'll probably post tutorials for a few of them, but if you don't want to make it and would rather buy, I am always happy to make up a custom creation for you!!! :)

I'm also planning to update my blog soon to make it look better and match my personality a little more. I may make it a little festive for the holidays as well :)

<3
Kara

Apology

Hey guys, sorry I have been absent lately. I've had so much going on in my life and I think that, unfortunately,  I will have to stop updating the blog for a few months until I graduate college in May. I just don't have time and I want to be able to give quality posts for y'all. I will see you again in May and I hope to start a new store blog for my crafting then as well!!!

I hope y'all have a wonderful new year and that you have many blessings in 2013!

God bless!