Another T-shirt Scarf Night

I had a blast making t-shirt scarves the other weekend and since then I've found several more t-shirt scarf "patterns." Since I purchased quite a few t-shirts at Michael's, I figured, why not try out a few of these other ideas and have a variety of scarves. I love scarves and these are some of the comfiest I've worn.

This second design was also found on Pinterest. The thing I love most about all these different scarves is that they all use the same basic steps. Therefore, if you have tried the first one, the rest are easy peasy.

The original design for this scarf (found on ettestudios.com) uses just one color of shirt. I used two. You copy the first step of the other scarf and cut the same basic strips out of the t-shirts. After stretching them out, divide them into two groups. I took ten red strips and six black strips in each group and placed them next to each other, as the picture below shows.

You then take another strip, cut it and tie the two groups together. Do the same to the other ends, making a circle. The final step is to wrap the remainder of the strip you tied around each end of the loops around and around and around and around... well, you get the picture. I tied a knot at the end and creatively tucked it in so it wouldn't show. You then have your scarf!

I actually like this one better than the first design I made. It's cozier and it hugs my neck tighter. It's so cozy that I forget I'm wearing it all the time. I actually went to bed with it on.

Hope you enjoy and happy crafting :).

An Amazing Find

When it comes to purchasing items on the internet, I tend to be slightly skeptical of most transactions. I despise PayPal and eBay, as I've had a few bad experiences, and I don't trust any small websites that have little to no reputation for security or holding themselves accountable to the customer. I usually only use amazon.com, a website I love very dearly.

On what may seem a completely unrelated note, I have pretty horrible eyesight. I've had glasses since I was in Kindergarten. I hate not being able to see, so I wear my contacts almost all the time, even when sleeping (oops!). My only pair of glasses broke about 6 months ago and I simply have not been able to find the motivation to purchase another $200+ pair.

So, based on the information, you can imagine my combination of skepticism and enthusiasm when my boyfriend, Alex, brought to my attention a website based in China called Zenni Optical. This website has a ridiculous amount of prescription glasses available, all under $50. It sounded too good to be true. I doubt I would have ever ordered any if Alex hadn't already bought from them a few years back and had been very happy with his purchase.

The process requires a few tools, but, all in all, is relatively easy. You need a ruler and some form of camera. You take a picture of yourself holding the ruler, centimeter side, up to your eyes. You can either zoom in on the picture or download it onto a computer and then you count how many centimeters it is from one pupil to the next (called pupil distance or pd on the website). After figuring this measurement out, you can start to pick out your glasses!

You can search different styles, shapes, colors and different sized lenses all by clicking through the column on the left of the website. Another feature available is a model on the right side of the menu. You can upload a photo of yourself and see what the glasses will look like on yourself. While not completely accurate, this feature does really help you see how the size of the frame will look. At times Zenni Optical has sales, but even without that, the orders are always surprisingly cheap. All glasses come with ant-scratch coating, UV protection, thing and light single vision lenses, a case and a microfiber cleaning cloth. 

Alex and I each chose three frames we liked. My three choices were all $10 or less a piece. Alex's were slightly more expensive, but after purchasing six pairs of glasses, all prescription, and paying for shipping and handling, we still paid under $90. I even have astigmatism in both eyes and I didn't have to pay any extra costs. They give you several boxes to enter information in, but unless you have any special conditions, you simply have to enter your basic prescription and pupil distance. They offer anti-reflection coating and the option of tinting the lenses different colors. These cost extra, but usually no more than $10 an option.

Since these glasses are being shipped from China, it does take 2-3 weeks to get your glasses. We received all our glasses, intact, and all were pretty much exactly what we expected. Below are pictures of the six prescription pairs we got from the website. I've gotten tons of compliments on these glasses and many people have asked if they're fake, because who can afford three pairs of prescription glasses? If you're buying from Zenni Optical, you better believe you can afford a variety of pairs! I've had a blast being able to accessorize and dress to my different glasses :).

A black pair for me.

A purple pair that is slightly more rectangular.

The one pair of Alex's he isn't completely sold on (also the cheapest pair he got).

Alex's second pair of black glasses.

Alex's turtle frames that are super sexy :).

The same type of frame as the black ones I got, but in red.

Wearing the red ones!

A couple other notes... Next time I purchase glasses from Zenni, I will be trying the anti-reflection coating. It's $7 a pair, I believe. The glasses don't reflect too much without it, but I'm a little OCD about my glasses being clean and I've found that I tend to think something's on them when it's merely a reflection. The total for my three pairs of glasses was under $30, so I figure, why not splurge and get the extra coating. Also, when browsing the different pairs, there's a measurement to take note of. It is the temple length. All my glasses were around 145 cm. Alex and I have pretty large gourds for heads, so he tried to get ones with around 160-170 cm temple length. If you have an old pair of glasses, you can measure this pretty easily too.

Craft Recap: T-shirt Scarf

Recently I joined Pinterest and I have fallen completely in love with it. I've been finding many different crafts, recipes, and even make-up options that I cannot wait to try. My favorite category has been the DIY one and many of these items are made for anyone to be able to recreate.

I've always considered myself a crafty individual, but I just haven't done much outside of work to that effect. This past weekend, I finally found the time and motivation to try one of the crafts. It's a t-shirt scarf. The original website for this (as far as I can tell) is from Cut out + Keep. I preferred to look at the instructions from this website though, as they are clearer and have more photos detailing the steps.

It took me a bit longer than it states on the websites. I made two and spent around 2.5 hours doing so. I watched my boyfriend, Alex, play Assassin's Creed: Revelations while I worked on them and the time passed very quickly. It was almost therapeutic.

I made two scarves, one normal and one circle scarf. I've worn both and love, love, love them! They are the most comfortable scarves I've worn and I even forget at times that I'm wearing them at all.

I do have a couple tips or bits of advice when it comes to making these. The bigger the shirts, the more loops you'll get, which makes a thicker scarf. I made the grey and blue scarf with tighter loops and that makes it a bit warmer. Also, the hem doesn't last long when it comes to cutting it up to use to tie the loops together. I cut them a bit longer than 5" and made sure to double knot them so they won't come undone. I ran out pretty quickly, so I simply cut strips from the t-shirt arms and used those. You can't tell a difference and they actually were easier to tie than the hem pieces.

I bought a bunch of different colored t-shirts at Michael's for $3 a piece. I looked at Target but the cheapest ones I could find were $8. I know the instructions say to use old t-shirts you have in your closet, but I already got rid of almost all my old clothes a couple months back. The grey shirt is an old one of my boyfriend's but the rest were just new, cheap ones I bought. Ultimately, each scarf still only cost me about 5 bucks to make.

I can't wait to make more of these. I will definitely be using this as a gift idea in the future :).

Jambalaya Recipe

I may not have fulfilled all my resolutions this week, but I definitely had fun. My job hired a new employee to help out with the infants, so I didn't work quite as long of a week as usual. This means that I had some extra time to work on some crafts and try some new recipes!

I tried a really great Jambalaya recipe that I altered and made my own. It's easy to make, delicious and reheats really well. I got the original recipe from allrecipes.com.

Charity's Jambalaya

2 T vegetable oil

1 package of boneless chicken breasts (4), cut into bite size pieces

1 package of spicy sausage (6 links), cut into bite size pieces (or can use 1lb of ground sausage instead)

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 of a large white onion, diced (can add more or less depending on like or dislike of onion)

3 large cloves of garlic, chopped or pressed

1/4 rounded t cayenne pepper

1/2 t onion powder

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

3 c rice

4 c chicken broth

2 c water

3 T Worcestershire sauce

hot sauce to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. I use vegetable oil because recently I've learned that once heated too high, olive oil actually becomes worse for you. Add onion and cook until soft. Then add chicken and sausage and brown. Add green pepper and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and stir thoroughly. Add rice and brown for a couple minutes. Add chicken broth and water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce, stir and serve! Voila!

It took me about an hour to make this. I've been eating the leftovers for a couple days now and it's still just as good. Mmmm!

You can add shrimp to this, as well as other vegetables (mushrooms, red bell pepper, celery). Traditional Jambalaya almost always has shrimp. I didn't this time, simply because I only like fresh shrimp and I didn't have time to make a trip and purchase good shrimp. Also, I used sticky rice (Nishiki rice) as I prefer it that way. You could also use brown rice if you prefer. One last point is that I will probably use ground spicy sausage next time. The skin on the sausage links made it a bit hard to slice and I ended up peeling most of it off.

I don't have a picture, as my stomach took over and I dished in before I thought to take a picture, but I promise future recipes will be accompanied by photos :).

Tomorrow: T-shirt scarves

New Year Resolutions...

... or simply general changes that I want to make in my life.

I am extremely blessed right now in my life. I have a wonderful family that, while they live a ways away, talk to me a lot and we have a very good relationship at the moment. I have a great job that I look forward to going to every day (or almost every day). I have an amazing boyfriend who constantly amazes me with his patience, guidance and love. Life is great and I have a lot to be thankful for.

While all the extrinsic aspects of my life are going very well, I have been struggling with a few inner issues. I have muddled through them and learned a lot about myself in the last month, but they are still a work in process. I made the decision last week that, in order to turn these problems, weaknesses, and worries into successes I need to make some personal changes in the way I look at things and how I am living my life. If I can work on being proactive and more positive, I know I can start working towards being a happier and productive individual.

1. I want to start working out again. I have been slacking a lot on that and it won't be easy. I move out of my apartment in a month which has a fitness area. For the next 5 months I'll be sharing space until I can find a place to live closer to my job. So, I will have to find opportunities to work out whether it means working out inside to movies on Netflix or finding a cheap fitness club I can get a month by month membership to. For the next month, I can still work out at my apartment, so that's what I'll do until I have to find an alternative option.

Currently: Not working out at all

Goal: Month 1 - Working out at least 3 times a week 30 mins +

2. I want to start eating healthier again. I go in waves and currently I am devouring any and everything in sight. I feel sluggish and my digestive system gets messed up when I eat poorly and I need to make better choices.

Currently: Whatever

Goal: No fried food. Eating fruits and veggies everyday. Using a food journal app on my iPhone (now that I actually have one).

3. I want to cut back on the alcohol. I have been drinking every weekend for a while now (not necessarily getting drunk but having at least one drink every weekend). It's making me feel bloated and sluggish and my stomach has been messed up more than usual. My mom sent me some medical information about how drinking can affect your risk for cancer and other unpleasant health issues. I want to cut back for my own peace of mind, as well as the hope that I will feel better.

Currently: Drinking once to twice a week.

Goal: Drinking once to twice a month.

4. I want to start going to church every week. I need to strengthen my faith. I've been battling a lot of insecurity and fear lately and I need to go to God with my problems. It will help me mentally, physically and emotionally to start going to church. It's one hour a week that I can dedicate to God.

Currently: Going to mass off and on.

Goal: Going to church every week.

5. I want to blog consistently. I miss writing a lot and I need a place I can keep myself accountable and go over the events of the past week. I can keep track of what I'm eating, if I'm working out, any thoughts (good or bad) that have affected my week. I've been keeping a lot of things inside and they've been coming out very sideways lately. I know that once I think about it and converse with myself that I see the situation in a new light and I'm able to understand the real reason for whatever I'm feeling or thinking. Having a place to work things out will help alleviate some of the emotional extremity I've been prone to.

Currently: Pretty much not blogging at all.

Goal: Blogging once a week.

6. I want to do something new every week. Whether it's a new recipe, restaurant, workout or picking up old projects I never finished or starting a new one, I want to get back into more activities. I have a lot of video games I want to start and finish and I would love to get back into knitting. I've been looking on Pinterest a lot lately and I've found a lot of crafts I'd love to do as well.

Currently: I'm a bum.

Goal: Every week trying to take time to intentionally do something different or new.

7. I want to be a better a girlfriend. Alex has been an amazing support in every aspect ever since I started dating him. He's always there for me no matter what the issue is. He's great at apologizing and he not only listens and offers advice but he also tries to look at situations from different perspectives. I want to try and help him more. I would like to make meals more often, keep him room cleaner and offer to help out with laundry, ironing. I can't help him with his IT stuff or a lot of other areas that he is involved in, but I can help create an area that he can feel comfortable in. I also want to be stronger emotionally. I want to a healthier person so he doesn't have to worry or deal with my occasional outbursts. He takes such good care of me, I would like to return the favor in the ways I can.

Ultimately, I want to do the things I know I should and create healthy habits. I want to appreciate the people I love and not disappoint them. I don't want to be a selfish person and I want to be able to look outside myself and focus on helping others more than I focus on my own needs and wants. This is my New Years Resolution and, realistically, a life long resolution.

One little regret.

Tonight I just found out my ex's dad died. A week after we broke up, at the beginning of June, he found out his dad had cancer. Today, through one of our mutual friends, I found out his dad passed away Christmas weekend.

Why begin a blog this way? Well, after hearing about this, I not only feel doubly guilty for hurting him, but I also feel completely unsure of how to, or if, to respond to this. I broke up with him (for these purposes I will refer to my ex as Bob. It's short and concise) for several different reasons.

First of all, we lived 9 hours away from each other. The entire relationship had been long distance and we had never had a chance to spend more than 5 days every other month with each other.

Second, we lived very different lives. He was a very avid marijuana user, while I prefer alcohol as my poison of choice. I am an extrovert, he was not. We also had very different goals. At the beginning of the relationship, I was questioning my desire for a family and children, but as the relationship progressed, I realized that these were very important to me. It became increasingly obvious that Bob did not know what he wanted to do with his life. He expressed an openness to exploring my goals... However, I have decided I need to be with someone who already has the same goals as me. I don't want someone to change in order to make me happy.

Lastly, and most importantly, I struggled to remain loyal throughout the relationship. I had a hard time staying in a mindset that I was a girlfriend and not single. Since we were only together a fraction of the time, I spent most of my time with girlfriends who were single. We went out, flirted, and drank... quite a bit. I ended up cheating on Bob a few different times. I was honest with him each time, and for some reason he "forgave" me each time. Towards the end of the relationship, I became close friends with the man I am now dating. There was sexual tension between us the day we met and it continued to increase the more we hung out. One night, we got drunk and things progressed. After talking about it the next day, I realized that I needed to break up with Bob. I needed to be out of a relationship that forgave me of my cheating and I needed to be in a relationship that I made me want to be loyal and committed. I also needed to find someone with congruent goals. So, I broke up with Bob.

I cried a lot during that week. I felt horrible, but also realized that there was nothing I could do to make it up to Bob. I had been a horrible girlfriend. Bob and I had not been friends before dating and it made it awkward to try and be friends now. I still think I could've been better about the break up and I still feel bad about hurting Bob. I don't know what I could've done or said though to make things better. I feel like words are petty and that, since I hurt him, it would be better if I simply stayed out of it.

I'm horrible with break ups and I've actually never been friends with an ex. I have been 100% faithful to my current boyfriend of 6 months and have vowed to never be in a relationship if I am attracted to other men. I have also made wiser decisions as to who I hang out with and who I drink with and how much I drink. I don't want to be a "cheater" and I never want to hurt someone I care about again.

As far as Bob's dad goes, I cannot express how sad it makes me that his dad passed away. I hate that he found out his dad had cancer a week after I broke up with him and I also hate that 7 months later, his dad died. I wish I could do something.

Anything they can do, I can do better.

Everything below is an opinion. There are many individuals this will not apply to. This is merely a practice in thinking out differences in gender and how individuals react to these differences.

Lately, I've been pondering how a man's mind works when deciding what kind of woman he wants. I tend to hang out with men more so than women. As I watch them play video games, watch movies or even browse the internet, a set of common qualities has risen as to what makes a woman sexy. Famous women, who are wearing next to nothing, who are dirty, sweaty, curvy, who are complete teases are just some of what seem to turn men on. However, when looking at what kind of woman a man wants to date or end up with, the characteristics desired tend to differ. Dancing seductively in public, wearing racy clothes and acting like a tease are not exactly the qualities a man wants in a partner.

The separation seems to occur between reality/relationships and fantasy/entertainment. There are not many men, at least men who I would consider mature and emotionally and mentally healthy, who would want to date a woman who would flaunt her body around in the public eye. I tend to think that a man would not want millions of other men lusting after their girlfriend, fiancee, wife, etc. However, when the woman is an idea, an object, in a sense, meant to be admired for her appearance, inappropriate actions and obvious sexuality are encouraged.

The problem that can occur is that many women are unable to differentiate between the two. Insecurities can arise. Almost every woman I have met cares about her appearance. No matter how much a man may compliment a woman, she almost always looks at herself in a critical way. I have to think that most women care deeply about being attractive to the special man in their life. I, personally, know that all my close girl friends work out, eat healthy, shower, and take time to look good. What can be frustrating is that all the women on television, in movies, in magazines have help. Naturally they do not look that amazing. Whether it is that they spend hours a day working out, pay people to do their hair, or they are simply photoshopped in anything they do, it is unlikely that any Hollywood female is 100% au naturale.

I have taken this realization as an opportunity to work on my self esteem. As I have become an adult, I have become acutely aware of how the media influences what I view as important to how I see myself. Therefore, while trying to better myself, I have also taken time to decide the type of woman I want to be. I want to feel good about myself and I want to find someone who reacts just as strongly to who I am and what I look like as he does to any woman he may see on tv.