Craft Day Saturdays

So the past two weekends it's been Craft Day Saturday in the Hoefer house :) I'll try to post my tutorials throught the next couple of weeks (some of the projects are birthday presents).

This one is so cute! I found it here

It's called the Lima Bean Wreath!

Supplies:
1 Bag of large lima beans
Styrofoam wreath
Lots of hot glue

You basically just pick a point to start and hot glue the lima beans in a line around the wreath. I did mine in a diagonal line.

It will take you lots of hot glue and about 2 hours so make sure you have some good music cranking or a good show on TV!

It will get pretty heavy near the end. I forgot to take a picture, but I spray painted it an ivory color to help the foam wreath underneath match the color of the lima beans...and to cover up any access hot glue that was showing.

Add a ribbon (and I added the wodden "H") and VIOLA! the lima bean wreath! I'll probably change it up come holiday season. That's one thing I love, love, LOVE about this wreath is it's so changeable!

Hope you enjoy!

Emergency Room

I spend my Monday morning in the emergency room. Talk about a sucky way to start the week! Last night my stomach wasn't feeling too hot so I took my favorite medicine (yes, yes, the pink stuff) and tried to hit the hay. Yeah, that didn't work out so well for me. I was up about every 30 minutes with serious lower stomach cramps, so bad at times I thought I was going to pass out. Me, with the stubborn Puerto Rican genes, of course did not wake up my husband. I finally woke him about 5:00am, telling him I couldn't take the pain any longer. He, of course, drilled me for not waking him sooner. We made it to the hospital (which is the hospital, he informed me, is where we will have our children 'cause architecturally speaking it's an amazing hospital). I was informed that I have intestinal viral infection.

Perfect.

I'm out of work today and for however long until I kick this thing. There's no meds for the cramps, so I have to suck it up and take one for the team. My plan today is to take it easy by watching *Dawson's Creek*, drinking water & apple juice, & eating soup.

I'll keep you all updated!

Slacker

Yes, Blogworld, I have yet again failed you (You can't say I didn't warn you!).

So much has happened in August so I'll do my best to catch everyone up to date in a timely manner :) (project blogs will commence tomorrow!)


August has been a crazy busy month for the hubs and me!

We headed off to the Ozarks for a weekend of fun in the sun with some amazing friends of ours.Our friends Ciara & Logan got engaged in a hot air balloon!

We saw *GOO GOO DOLLS* in concert for Jeremy's 24th Birthday (hands down, best concert everrrr)

We went the Renaissance festival with our friends Ciara and Logan for the "Media VIP party" (Logan is a camera guy for one of our local new stations and got us into the Festival not only early, but for free!!!) It was a great night, even though it started thunder storming on us!

Jeremy officially turned 24 and we celebrated by going to Jimmy Johns for dinner (go figure) and met up with our AWESOME friends Rachel and Aaron for dessert at Bravo!

We to the Cheif's first game in the new Arrowhead stadium (they lost, go figure)

Went to one of Jeremy's co-workers wedding.

Right now we're in Higginsville with Jeremy's family celebrating his dad's upcoming 50th birthday! I'll have pictures to post later and projects galore!!!

17 Pounds Later and Feeling Fabulous

You heard me right, BlogWorld, I have lost 17 pounds in 12 weeks! I've always been a pretty healthy weight, but my Puerto Rican genes finally kicked in about 2 years ago and I slowly started getting the curves I DIDN'T want. I tried all kinds of different diets, work out routines, etc. and nothing worked for me. Even before the wedding, you'd think I would have busted my butt to look good, but I just had no motivation to do it. It wasn't until after Jeremy & I got married and he was working out out regularly, and I was cooking healthy meals for him, that I finally looked in the mirror, got fed up with what my body was turning into, got off my butt, and started hitting the gym! With help and A LOT of encouragement from my wonderful husband (and some over the phone workout counseling from my figurative competative cousin) I worked my butt off and made my goal! (see the end of this blog for my workout breakdowns)

When they say working out and eating better is all you have to do to lose weight, they are so right! (whoever "they" are, lol) I worked out 4 days a week (at 4:30am. Yes, you heard me right. It's the only free time before work!) and even on my off days I tried to ride the stationary bike for about 15-20 minutes. I wasn't on any special diet, however, I did count my calories for 2 weeks to give myself an idea of what I was putting in my body and WOW I'm so glad I did that! I thought I was eating healthy and come to find out I was taking in almost 2,000 calories a day!!! I was able to knock that down to about 1,200 per day and was still getting the proper nourishment AND was full. Water is a biggie, too. I made sure to drink about 60-80 ounces of water per day. I finally figured out if I wanted that volcano taco from Taco Bell I could, however I would have to ride the bike for 5 more minutes to burn off its calories!

I also did have the "aid" of supplements (see below). After my phone counseling session with my cousin, Jeremy & I made a trip to Vitamin Shoppe (I seriously never thought I would spend money on supplements!). I got some chocolate protein (which I have within 20 minutes after my workouts), BCAA when I wake up & before my workout, Glutamine (which helps your body retain its current muscle and aids in burning off fat) in the morning & before bed, Arginine (which helps the blood flow during your workout) before my workout, and a daily vitamin. Crazy, right?


Anywho, as a goal bonus, Jeremy let me go on a shopping spree when I made my goal (which I gladly did with my mom) and I got TONS of amazing clothes, since none of my other clothes fit me. It was great girl time and I love not only the way I look, but the way I feel (and my husband can't seem to get enough of me these days ;} )

Hope this helps with anyone out there trying to get back in shape! It's all about how you feel.

Happy Sweating!

Jessica's Work Out:
Day 1: Abs & Back

• 5 minutes jog (tredmil)
• Lat Pulls (use long bar on cables, pull down behind neck)-15 reps of 30lbs (x2)
• Seated Row (machine)-15 reps of 20 (x2)
• Ab Machine (machine)-15, 35 (x2)
• Leg Raises (hard to explain: where you stand on a "stand" and support yourself with your arms while you raise your legs or just do another Ab machine)-15 (x2)
• 5 minutes Eliptical (2.5min forwards, 2.5min backwards)
• Back-ups (another hard to explain: where you lean forward on this "stand" and lean back to work lower back or just do another back machine)-15 (x2)
Plank-30sec (x2)
Shrugs with Dumbells-15 reps of 5lbs (x2)
5 minutes stationary bike

Day 2: Legs---"Superset" means to alternate

• 5 minutes tredmil
• Leg Extensions (machine)-15, 40 (x2) superset with curl
  
• Leg Curl (machine)-15, 35 (x2) superset with ext
• Hip Add (machine)-20, 60 (x2) superset with Add
  
• Hip Abd (machine)-15, 50 (x2) superset with Abd
• 1 Leg leg press (do the normal leg press, but do one leg at a time, not together)-15, 60 (x2)
• Calf Raises (machine)-15, 90 (x2)
• 5 minutes bike

Day 3: Chest & Shoulder

• 5 minutes tredmill
• Incline Press (machine)-15, 15 (x2)
• Lat Raises (machine)-15, 10 (x2)
• Dumbell on bench (lay on bench and raise arms above chest)-15, 10 (x2)
• 5 minutes Elip
• Standing Dumbell military (on balance) (stand on a balancer and raise arms above head)-15, 5 (x2)
• Chest Flies (machine)-15, 25 (x2)
• Front Raises with dumbell-15, 10 (x2)
• 5 minutes bike

Day 4: Arms

• Arm Curl (machine)-15, 15 (x2) superset with ext
  
• Arm Ext (machine)-15, 30 (x2) superset with curl
• Cable Curls (use bar with cables and pull up)-10, 20 (x2) superset with pushdown
• Tricep pushdown (use rope with cables and pull down)-10, 30 (x2) superset with curl
• 5 minutes Elip
• Dumbell Curls (balance) (stand on balancer and curl)-15, 5 (x2)
• Tricep Kickback (lean on bench and kickback one arm per set to work tricep)-15, 5 (x2)
• 5 minutes bike

*Each week, up your cardio by 1 minute a piece and up your weights. By week 3 or 4, try to start switching things up a bit!

The Worries & Woes of a Designer

Graphic Design can be very filling career field, but also very frustrating. I love my job and I genuinely love going to work every day. I love that I'm getting paid to play on an iMac 8-9 hours a day. Hands down, best degree for me! I hate, however, when clients have no idea what they want and are not satisfied with what I create for them; talk about Debbie Downer. I try not to let these few and far between moments get the best of me, but it's really difficult!

And fonts.
Don't EVEN get me started on fonts.
My professors in college did not prepare me for the printing side of Graphic Design, that's for sure. To all my fellow Graphic Designers, if you choose a script font, please make sure your fine lines and details are at least a point thick, otherwise it creates a world of woes for your printing company (aka ME!). And fonts like papyrus make me want to gag (Ugh..and the ever famous, ever evil Comic Sans). In college, I always thought choosing the cutest fonts is what made the design; yeah, no. Not when you're on the printing side. The simpler, the better. What you see on screen is NOT what's going to be printed. Just some things to keep in mind :)

I think I'm about done with my rant for today. Thanks for listening, BlogWorld.

Until next time...

Recipe Time!

I haven't done a recipe blog yet, so I think it's about time!

Here are some of our favorite dishes! They're cheap and SUPER easy. All of them only take between 20-40 minutes to make! Plus, they are all health-friendly!!!

My grandmother's Easy Chicken Parmesan:
*A Jessica Favorite


1-14oz Spaghetti Sauce
6 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
6 small boneless chicken breasts
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Pour sauce into 13x9 baking dish. Carefully stir in 4 tbsp. (~1/4 cup) of Parmesan cheese. Add chicken; turn over to evenly coat both sides with sauce. Cover with foil.

Bake 30 minutes. Uncover. Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese; continue baking 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted.

Serve over hot, cooked pasta.

Makes 6 servings.


Saucy Pepper Steak:
*A Jeremy favorite
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1 small onion, cut into strips
1 lb well-trimmed boneless beef sirloin streak, cut into strips
Mince garlic to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
2 cups hot, cooked brown rice

Heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender. Transfer to large bowl; keep warm.

Add meat, garlic, & black pepper to same skillet; cook and stir about 3 minutes. Add soy sauce; cook 1 minute or until meat is cooked through. Add barbecue sauce; cook until heated through.

Spoon meat mixture into bowl with veggies; toss gently. Serve over rice.

Serves 4.


Chicken Fajitas:

Marinade:
1/4 cup beer (don't worry, non-beer drinkers, I don't like beer in any way, shape, or form and I LOVE this marinade)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
Minced garlic to taste
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Salt to taste (Jeremy has some lime beer salt that's just delish!)

Fajitas:
1.5 lbs boneless chicken breasts
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, cut into strips
4 wheat tortillas
Shredded Mexican cheese
Salsa

Stir together all marinade ingredients and mix well. Cut about 1.5 pounds boneless chicken breasts (or steak) into strips. Place meat and 3/4 of the marinade in a zip lock bag and marinate for 1-3 hours. Place veggies and the rest of the marinade in a zip lock bag and marinate for 30 minutes-1 hour.

Saute veggies in large nonstick skillet until soft/tender. Set aside and cover.

In same skillet, cook chicken (or steak) through. Add veggies and cook 1 minute longer.

Scoop into tortillas, add cheese, and salsa.

Serves 4.

Catching Up

Since I was so terrible at updating my blog last month, I really need to catch everybody up on the awesome garage saleing finds Jeremy & I got! We decided on a whim one Saturday to hit up a few garage sales around town (mind you it was 11:00am and we figured nothing good would be around). The first we went to had absolute crap (which we honestly expected). At the second we found this AWESOM wine rack...for $3.00!!!

No, those are not all full wine bottles. They're actually all empty and will hopefully be filled soon if my husband finally makes some wine again!

The next one we hit was the jackpot. I got 2 five-record collections for $1.00 a piece!!!! Beethoven and Dean Martin. The Beethoven is great, but I've been listening to my Dean Martin records like non-stop!!!!

We also picked up this amazing black leather Lazy Boy recliner for....get this...$25!!!! We don't have room for it in our condo, unfortunately, so we let my in-laws have it. It really was a steal of a deal and the amazing find for the day.

(I forgot to take a picture of it, but this is pretty much it!)

Now on to DIY! I, again, forgot to take pictures of my process, but this is a SUPER simple project!

Jeremy & I plan our meals out every two weeks and to put them on display for ourselves, I had them written on a white board hanging in our kitchen.Not so cute, right? I don't have the most artsy hand writing and I'm MUCH better on the computer (hence the graphic design degree) so I decided to use my talent and create something much better!

All you need is:
cork board
scrap book paper
modge podge
card stock
thumb tacks
clips
some paint
ribbon

I modge podged the scrap book paper to the cork board. While that dried, I painted (yes painted) the thumb tacks and clips. Then I thumb tacked the ribbon to the back of the cork board.

I typed up the names of the meals we eat on a regular basis (we have a large variety; I think I typed up about 20 different meals), and printed them on card stock and cut them into strips.

Make a pocket for the Meals and one for the Recipies.

Put it all together and this is what you get:

("Musgo" is leftover night; Everything in the kitchen must-go. Get it?!)

Last night Jeremy and I went to a store here in town called Vinyl Renaissance to see if we could get Goo Goo Dolls tickets (no such luck). I could SERIOUSLY spend hours in that store!!! I wanted to buy all of the records, of course I couldn't, but I did pick up a good 'ol Abbey Road record by the Beatles for under $10!

Love those classics!

We did finally get tickets online so August 19, we're see Goo Goo Dolls!!!!! (happy early birthday present to my husband!)

Until next time, fair bloggers....