Smoothie Sunday

Okay, so I know it's actually Monday today, but I made this smoothie yesterday (so it still counts)!  Here's the recipe I concocted yesterday morning (the changes I made are at the bottom!):

Fruit Blast Health Smoothie

-about 8 small strawberries

-handful of blueberries

-1 lime, peeled

-1/2 of a medium-sized orange, peeled

-1 medium sized banana, peeled

Blend everything (I used my trusty Magic Bullet) until smooth.

Changes I Made:

-I added the banana afterwards to make the smoothie creamier

-I juiced the lime instead of chopping it and blending it.  This got rid of those little white veiny things in the lime.

ENJOY!

Something to Brighten Your Day

So the weather is miserable here.  Rainy, cold, yucky.  I was just sitting around the house doing not much of anything, so I figured I'd post something to brighten this gloomy day!  This is my dog Molly doing a couple of her tricks!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Okay guys.  Today I'm going to talk to you about a very serious issue.  It originates from a extremely common and sinister electronic device.  It's very well known, but unfortunately few people know the long-term problems they can cause.  Countless lives have been altered by these devices without the knowledge of the user!  This is unacceptable and must be addressed!  What is this mystery device?  I present to you, and some viewers may wish to stop reading at this point:  THE IPHONE!

Okay, so obviously I'm joking!  Well, to a certain extent!  These days, everyone has phones.  Like seriously, everybody.  I got a phone when I was in grade ten and I was mocked about a year prior to that for being the last person in my class without one!  A definite low point was when my friend's nine year old sister got an iphone before I even got a flip phone.

But okay, is this not the worst thing ever? When you're talking to one of your friends or family members and you happen to look at them and see this:

Isn't that annoying?

My sister and I are not a part of the iphone club, instead carrying around our classy Motorola Razrs.  Sometimes when we know people are staring at their phones instead of paying attention to what we're saying, we like to play a little game.  These scenarios go something like this:

Me:  So, a funny thing happened to me on the bus today....
Person on phone:  Oh really?
Me:  Yeah.  I was just sitting there and--
Person on phone: (clearly not paying attention)
Me:  ....then I turned into a werewolf....
Person on phone:  (still not listening)
Me:  ....then I stole an old lady's purse....
Person on phone:  (still dead to the world)
Me:  Do you think that's okay?
Person on phone:  (Finishes text) Oh yeah, totally.

So, yeah.  Even though those conversations are pretty funny for us, it's still pretty annoying to have to compete for peoples' attention.  As if regular phones weren't distracting enough, now there are smart phones that you can text people on, AND check your Facebook on, AND play games on.  These phones are ruining people!  Whether we like it or not, social interaction has taken a downward plunge.  When you're hanging out with friends or family, you should not have to battle for the attention of who you're with, with people who AREN'T EVEN THERE!

So guys, next time you're hanging out with someone, just put your phone away!  Don't be a textoholic :P  I hope this has inspired people to just keep your phone in your pocket.  :)

http://www.fatherroderick.com/2012/07/25/how-to-prevent-your-cellphone-from-distracting-you/

Detox

Okay, so I've been reading all of this interesting stuff on the internet about the benefits of detox.  For those of you who aren't familiar with detoxification, it's basically a time when you try to rid your body of those nasty toxins that lurk in our everyday food.  Detoxes are also supposed to get rid of that "icky" feeling after your diet hasn't been quite up to snuff.

So, I was bored again, like usual.  These crushing times of boredom are usually the times when I get my most random ideas.  So I decided I'd give detox a whirl!  Mine is just a 24-hour detox because experts suggest you start slow if you've never tried one before.

Since last night, all I've eaten/drank is enough water to float a ship, and this weird detox smoothie I found on the internet!  The smoothie is....interesting.  It's refreshing, for sure, but it's also a little weird.  I was limited with my choices of recipes by what I had in my kitchen at the time.  My smoothie was a mixture of apples, carrots, and celery, with a little cinnamon sprinkled in.  Here's why these were chosen:

Apples:  (lots of apples, because yum) help support digestion.
Carrots:  because they help remove toxins from the colon.
Celery:   helps lower blood pressure.
Cinnamon:  boosts your metabolism.

I have a couple of suggestions if anyone wishes to tackle this smoothie.  Although the recipe stated this was a smoothie, I would recommend putting it through a juicer and making it juice instead.  I like the flavour, but the carrots give it a funny texture.  Secondly, make sure you use lots of apples.  If you add too many carrots instead, it overpowers the taste of the apples.  Plus, I love apples!

If anyone has any recipes they like, speak up!  I'm always up for trying new ones!

This isn't the site that I got my recipe from, but I found it and these all look delicious.  Next time I try a detox, I'll definitely be trying some of these!  Oh, and buying a juicer of course!

http://www.biggestloserclub.com.au/food-fitness/recipes/detox-juices.html

I'm almost done my 24 hours, and so far it hasn't been that bad at all.  Except, you know, craving the occasional KitKat bar, or bowl of ice cream!  I'm pretty weak....  :P

T-Shirt Quilt

Alright guys, this is my latest project!  Ever wonder what you're going to do with all of those old sports, event, or concert t-shirts?  I mean, no offence, but you can't wear them forever!  Anyways, I had a TON of shirts that I never wore because they were either really big, or really small, or just plain worn out.  I had two big bags of them stashed under my bed collecting spiders, so something had to be done.

Over the last couple days I have been cutting, pinning, and stitching things to make my very own t-shirt quilt!  My sister found this project on Pinterest (best site EVER) and we decided to give it a try!  I haven't yet got batting and backing for my quilt, but I'm hoping to do that as well!

Here's how to make the t-shirt part of your quilt:

You will need:

• 25 t-shirts with designs (may use t-shirts twice if there are designs on front and back)
• cardboard
• pencil (for tracing)
• rolling cutter/scissors
• sewing machine
• thread (any colour, doesn't matter)
• iron

Steps:

1. Find 25 of your oldest, useless t-shirts.
2. Cut a 13x13 inch square out of cardboard.
3. Trace your cardboard square onto each t-shirt on the design that you would like.
4. Use fabric scissors to cut out each square (I used a fabric roller cutter and it worked good!).
5. Arrange your t-shirts on the floor the way you would like them to look on your quilt.
6. Sew together the rows first.  To do this you flip two squares so the right sides are together.  Pin them together to make it easier!  Then use a sewing machine to sew a straight stitch where the two squares will meet.  Flip open and do the same with the rest of the row.  Repeat this step with each row after that.
7. Flatten the seams using an iron.  If the first row's seams are pressed left, the second row's seams should be pressed right.  Etc.
8. Sew the rows together.  Pin together all of the corners with the corners of the next row.  Add additional pins to make sewing easier.  Then sew together rows 2 and 3, 3 and 4, 4 and 5.
9. Iron to take out the wrinkles and flatten the seams.
10. If wanted:  combine front of quilt with batting and backing for the finished product!  (I haven't made it here yet :P)

Preview

This is a little preview of the book I'm going to write!  Here it is.

"The answer is 'b'", my mind kept telling me.  I knew the answer to the multiple choice question.  We'd covered the material on April 27, two minutes after I glanced up at the clock, bored at 9:36.  Sighing, I circled 'a'.  If I got 100% on every single quiz, test, and exam, people would notice.  It would draw attention to myself.  I can remember every single day of my life.  It's not that my head is full.  It's more like my mind is a filing cabinet, with information neatly tucked away for me to sift through.  People couldn't know about my "gift", if you would even call it a gift.  It was more like a gigantic pain in the butt.  Sure it was handy some days.  For example, I've never had to study a day in my life.  But how would you like to remember absolutely everything about your life?  Even the bad things?

That's not the end of my strange gifts.  Sometimes I have these dreams.  They're never pleasant dreams about family or friends.  It scares me half to death that someday I will dream about them.  I pray that the dreams will stay away.  For they're not peaceful, slumbering, mindless thoughts just thrown together.  My dreams are premonitions.  They alert me beforehand of extremely unfortunate events.

I can remember this face.  I now know that that face belonged to my grandpa, but at the time all he was was a face.  I was so young that there were no words to describe him, but I can see him as clear as day when I think back.  One night when I lay sleeping, helpless, the first dream came.  The world was dark.  A heartbeat shattered the quiet darkness.  Then another, and another.  They became faster and faster and with each beat a picture swam into view.  The shape of a man just standing there.  I watched for a few seconds as the beats grew unbearably loud and fast.  Then they stopped and the man fell.  I woke, screaming in my crib.  The next day my grandpa had a heart attack while he was holding me.  Just like the man in the dream, he would never get up.

My dreams are curses, festering in my head until they come true.

Alone

This is another little something new that I'm trying!  These are song lyrics.  Hope you guys like them!

Alone

Oh, how I long to follow,

The long forgotten path.

The one to reverse heartbreak

Yeah, the one to take me back.

Take me home,

Like you still might want me here.

Take me home, 

Forget all the fights and tears.

Take me back,

My armour's cracked.

Don't leave me here

Alone.

Oh, how I long to follow,

The long forgotten way.

The one to change my choices

Yeah, the one to make me stay.

Take me home,

Like you still might want me here.

Take me home,

Forget all the fights and tears.

I've been wrong,

It's made me strong.

Don't leave me here

Alone.

Oh, how I long to follow, 

The path that ends my roam.

The one that leads me to you

Yeah, the one to bring me home.

Take me home,

Like you still might want me here.

Take me home,

Forget all the fights and tears.

Open your doors,

My heart is yours.

Don't leave me here

Alone.

Let's make it right

And stop the fight

Don't leave me here

Alone.