Oh, Oatmeal

I am trying to eat healthy these days...not necessarily to lose weight, but because I like the way I feel when I do.  I have always been a HUGE fan of breakfast--I would eat it for every meal of the day.  My mom was asking me for some breakfast ideas the other day (she is a toast and yogurt eater, which SO would not do it for me), so I thought I'd do a post of some of the healthy breakfasts that I have been loving lately.

I am a sweet breakfast sort of girl, and it has to hold me over for the morning.  If I get too hungry before lunch, it throws off my whole day.

Ashley and her husband always make fun of me for loving oatmeal...so prepare yourself for several of those.

Giant bowl of oatmeal stumbled upon while walking through NYC...obvious photo-op.

So here are some of my fav's, in no particular order:

Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oatmeal from Get Healthy with Heather

My teaching schedule requires me to get up super early, so making breakfast is not in the cards.  I pretty much love all things PB/banana, and I like my oatmeal a little on the thicker side, so I love this one!

Oatmeal Protein Pancake from Carrots 'n Cake

I don't make it with protein powder, as I think it makes it a little too tough.  Instead, I top it with PB and banana...mmm.  I make it the night before and toss it in the fridge.

Pumpkin Protein Frosting from Healthy Diva Eats

I totally did not expect to like this, but it is amazing.  Pretty much the first thing I make with leftover pumpkin.  I put some on a banana or waffle.

Breakfast Cookie from The Fitnessista

Another awesome overnight breakfast.  I make mine with dried cranberries in it (tried pumpkin, but it made it too soft).  I usually top it with some--you guessed it--banana.

Flax Crusted French Toast from Carrots 'n Cake

Tina pretty much rocks at breakfast ideas.  This is one of my favorite weekend breakfasts.  Who can guess what I top it with?

Apple Pie Oatmeal from Oh She Glows

This is my absolute favorite oatmeal recipe.  For awhile, I was making it every weekend.  It makes my house smell awesome for hours.  No PB or banana here...shocking!

Post-wedding brunch...my favorite part of their big day.  (haha...jk sis!)

I'm always on the lookout for new breakfast ideas.  Pass along your favorite!

20 Questions

I've seen this survey pop up on several of my favorite blogs this week, so I figured we might as well jump on in!

1) What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?

Amy: Lunch and shopping with my mom/sister
Ashley: Spending time with my mom and/or Amy or just relaxing with Matt.

2) List your top three favorite TV shows.

Amy: Glee, The Office, Biggest Loser
Ashley: Grey's Anatomy, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Say Yes to the Dress


3) Would you rather be in pictures or take them?

Amy: It sounds kind of vain to say that I would rather be in them, but I'm not a big photographer, and so the alternative is my only choice.
Ashley:Take them for sure!


4) Why do you blog?

Amy: I really love to write, always have...and this gives me a great excuse to write WITH one of my favorite people!

Ashley: I'd give the same answer as Amy but I'd also add because it's an easy way to make sure we document memories.  It's sad that so many years have gone by with out documented memories.


5) Share five websites that you visit regularly…

Amy: Facebook, Hotmail, AOL, my Google Reader, and Pinterest.
Ashley: Facebook, Pinterest, Yahoo, Target, and of course Blogger!


6) If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list who would it be?

We don't have Twitter!  It's definitely on our list of things to do...


7) List a few of your favorite snacks.

Amy: Basically anything involving PB and banana, cereal, or a bagel if I'm feeling mischievous. 
Ashley: I'm not much of a snacker...but when I do I favor granola or crackers


8 ) Do you have a pet? If so, what kind?

Amy: Nope...but definitely thinking about a dog.
Ashley:  Same as Amy! 

9) Which three material possessions would you struggle to live without?

Amy: My phone, my computer, and my car (lame answer...probably the same for lots of people)
Ashley: I'd say my phone, my computer and my camera.


10) What’s your favorite drink?

Amy: Lately I am sooo into iced coffee with vanilla almond milk...mmmm
Ashley: I'd have to say Water...I don't like juice and am not a fan of many other things either.



11) Do you enjoy cooking?

Amy: Love it...just wish I had a little more time for it...and someone to clean up after I'm done.  :)
Ashley:  I enjoy it and but I'm still learning.

12) Do you have children?

Amy: Nope...unless you count the 160 I keep track of at work.  :)
Ashley: Nope


13) What are your favorite hobbies?

Amy: Running, reading, blogging, and crafts.
Ashley: Writing, reading, crafts, photography


14) Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing?

Amy: I'd say I'm a little more on the shy-ish side.  Although I am quite outgoing with people I'm comfortable around.
Ashley: I'm on the shy side, very rarely like to venture out of my comfort zone.


15) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change?

Amy: I would worry less and be a little less stuck in my routines.
Ashley:  I need to learn to stop sweating the small stuff... if I can't change it don't worry about it.

16) Who is your favorite actor/actress?

Amy: Not sure why, but I LOVE Michael Douglas...and I'm a big fan of Jon Krasinski (did I spell that right?) from The Office.

Ashley: I'm not sure I really have one.  Although I do like movies with Julia Roberts and George Clooney.


17) What’s the coolest thing you’ve done this week?

Amy: Either threw an ice cream party for some of my students, or helped celebrate my Grandpa's 85th birthday.

Ashley: I think through the eyes of a 2 year old and 6 month old I do "cool" things often but I'd say the best thing for me was the celebration of my Grandpa's 85th, that was special to me.


18) Do you live near your family or far from them?

Amy: I have run to Ashley's house before...so we're quite close, and my parents are only about 10-15 minutes away.

Ashley: Same as Amy's answer except I have never run to her house before and I'm about 20 minutes from my parents and about 1/2 hour from Matts.


19) List three of your talents.

Amy: Singing (although I don't let people hear it anymore), making a 3-leaf clover with my tongue (yep, I'm that awesome), and catching things that fall out of the cabinet (but I never get to do it when someone is there to marvel at my skills...haha).

Ashley: Writing Poetry, Off the wall ideas that contribute to my creativity and I'd say teaching children, not really a talent but I am finding it hard to answer this question.


20) What is your greatest attribute?

Amy: I have surprised myself at my ability to make something difficult into something I can be proud of.

Ashley: My level of patience with situations that many other people can't be patient with.

My kind of crafting..

As Amy posted here we have decided to change the blog a little bit and my main focus will be on types of photos and things I can do with photography.

Before I delve into that, I'll give a little bit of my history about it.  As a child when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I always answered "a mom."  I was a huge fan of baby dolls, and playing with Barbies was rare for me.  Anyway, I'd always take my dolls on "trips" to get their picture taken, and I would always practice staging a photo with props.  If I had a disposable camera (yep I'm showing my age by talking about a disposable camera, do they even make them anymore??), I would take pictures of my toys set up.  Anyway, the other day I had a thought...I'm currently an Early Childhood professional (they aren't my own kids but I still work closely with them), and I have also developed an extreme interest in photography-- the two things I played daily when I was a child.  It makes me wonder if this has always been my calling in life.  So there you have it, my focus for the blog, along with some DIY projects and of course New Recipe Nights, I will document my learning as I venture into trying to become a better photographer. 

I'm working toward a camera like this and my goal is to have it in my possession by Christmas 2012. 

Once I get my camera I plan to enroll in some photography classes to help me learn exactly how to do the fun things that I'd love to photograph. 

Working with an easy point and shoot digital camera at this time these are some of my favorite photos of scenery:

This isn't scenery but it is Amy crossing the finish line at her first 5k.  I love how you can see her, the finish sign and the time.

Taken at the zoo

A lone Cardinal in our tree.

 

So there ya have it!  My intro to my interests!

Do any of our readers have ideas of things I can photograph?  I'm always up for a challenge.

Winter Running

It's winter.  It's cold.  It's snowy.  I. don't. like. it.

Rant complete.  All whining aside, running in winter is not easy.  I have gone out a few times since we started actually getting snow, and, to be honest, it hasn't been so bad!  Since the jury is still out on getting a gym membership, I'm going to devote this post to the perks of exercising outside during the winter.

If Patrick Sharp can do it, by golly, so can I!  :)

1. Probably the biggest perk: I find that I don't get as tired as easily because I'm not overheating.  I am the kind of runner that needs to get out early during the summer, because, if I'm too hot, I burn out (no pun intended) fast.

2. There are very few people outside, so, really, it's kind of peaceful.

3. You have an excuse for running a little slower.  :)  (I will likely be using this excuse in my upcoming SuperBowl Sunday 5K, as I do not plan to buy the "shoe chains" that they are suggesting.)

4. It's really beautiful.  No if's, and's, or but's about it (well...except for the dirty slush on the side of the road, but that's a small detail).

...and we thought THIS was cold!

Some things I'm still trying to figure out:

1. How to do speedwork outside.  Taking time off for my shin splints has slowed me down a little.  I know I'm not going to PR at my upcoming 5K, and that's OK with me, but I would like to come close.

2. A spin class that doesn't require a gym membership.  Still looking for that one.

3. Should I just bite the bullet, get the gym membership, and start running on the dreaded treadmill?

Your turn: Are you a treadmill runner?  Any tips for any of the things I'm still trying to figure out?

Ch-Ch-Changes

Ashley and I have been talking, and we finally decided to give our blog a little shift in focus.

When we started this blog, we were inspired by blogs like Young House Love and wanted to take a DIY/decorating approach.

While we really love to do crafty stuff, we just don't have time to make it enough of a priority to really focus our blog on it.

Case in point...the window frosting project that has been only partially completed since July.  Way to go Amy.

So, we had a talk about what each of us would love to blog about and how to work them together so we can still blog together.

I could spend hours in front of running/healthy living blogs like Hungry Runner Girl and Carrots 'n Cake.

Ashley, on the other hand, loves to spend her time looking for photography ideas and honing her skills at it.

With our new year's goals/resolutions in mind, we decided to make this blog more about finding a balance between what is necessary (work, being healthy, etc.) and what makes us happy (photography, running, going on random adventures, etc.).

You had better believe we will still be making time for New Recipe Night...balance, people!

We still don't have a definitive answer as to what this blog is "about."  Here is what we know:

• I will post at least once a week about something health/nutrition/running related that interests me.
• Ashley will post at least once a week about something photography related (we have a fun little challenge up our sleeves).
• Each week we will post something random that we have done together...because that is how we roll!

Eventually, we might be able to categorize this blog.  But maybe not!  Time will tell, and we hope you follow along for the ride!

Pinterest Addiction part II

Hello All, Ashley here!  Sorry I have been on a blog hiatus this week, its been a long and busy one.  This week we celebrated Matt's birthday, so a quick Happy Birthday to him. 

                               First Up:  Our completed Color Me Mine pieces found in our post here.

Next Up:  Ashley's Pinterest Addiction! While not easy to pick a board to highlight,  I have chosen to highlight pins off of my "DIY Projects and Crafts" board.

First up:  Our Pantry Door

Original Project is found here .    Since our kitchen is connected to the dining and living room area I have always wanted to isolate the kitchen as its own room by giving my kitchen it's own decorative theme.  So, I've added this vinyl decoration onto my "to-do" list, but I'd love to make it on my Cricut!

Project #2 -  A DIY  bench, find the tutorial here.  It's actually a redone COFFEE TABLE!  How fun.  Once this project is completed I'd place the final product between the two tall windows in my master bedroom.

And finally something I have to complete to get a start on my to do list.

When it comes to security in my home I would like all of the bells and whistles that I can get, but that doesn't come over night, therefore near the top of the to-do list is frosting the glass next to my front door to add a touch more privacy to our entry. 

This project was found on this blog and also here on Young House Love

Pinterest Addiction

The two of us have a bit of an obsession with Pinterest.

If you're not on it...you should definitely change that.  Unless, of course, you value your time and doing things other than sitting in front of the computer.  Because, let me tell you, this crazy website will surely get you sitting in front of the computer.  It's genius!

So, today, I'm going to highlight some of my favorites from one of my boards.  Perhaps this will entice me to actually get moving on some of these projects, instead of just pinning...and pinning...and pinning.

Seeing as one of my new year's resolutions is to get moving on making my office look like it belongs to an adult instead of a broke college student, I'm going to focus on my "Decorating Ideas" board.  Here are some of my favorite pins:

This is one of my first pins, from houzz.com (the link from the pin doesn't take you to the right place, otherwise I'd give the exact link), and is my first office inspiration.  I love the corner desk concept...and just now noticed there are some bib numbers on the wall.  Woo for running!

I also can't help but go back and stare at this one.  I definitely want to do this in my little mud room/laundry room/basement.  The pin is from Made By Girl, and the blog  is super adorable.  Another great thing about Pinterest...it leads you to other fun blogs!

This is one of those that I was shocked to find myself repinning, because I am sooo not a green kind of girl.  However, I find myself more and more drawn to this color combo...pretty sure this is the route I'll take with my office (since it's a pretty blank slate and I can switch it out easily if I don't like it).  The pin is originally from Canadian House and Home magazine.

And finally, I'm loving this picture.  Why on Earth did she pin a picture of a kid's room, do you ask?  I don't blame you, because I asked myself the same thing.  However, this is the blue and green combo again.  In this one, I am loving the green accent wall with the curtains.  I LOVE the curtains.  Definitely on the to-do list for the office.  This one is from Little Green Notebook.

Hope you enjoyed this mini-glimpse into my Pinterest world!  It was fun to me to take a peek back at some things I pinned awhile ago!  Happy Pinning!