Musica Monday

You know one unfortunate thing about being a blogger is that when your internet sucks, it becomes very hard to do what you want.  Unfortunately, it is not an uncommon occurrence for me, right around the same time many nights my internet gets a bit sketchy, then comes back without a problem.  This gets very old very fast.  I don't usually loose the connection completely, but the speed starts reminding me of dial up...remember that stuff?  Geeze...look how far we have come! I mean seriously! It's a bit crazy if you think about it.  When I look at how much we rely on the internet, it's kind of shocking don't you think? I'm not sure what you think, but we really use the internet for just about everything in the modern days, everything from talking to one another to reading to doing homework or giving homework, I even sign in online for work.  It's almost like we would rather interact with computers rather than actual people, sure we interact with other people through the internet, but it's not the same is it?  Now I sound like my grandmother, talk to people rather than text...I won't deny that I am a victim of this technology, and I will admit to sometimes preferring interaction with other humans via interwebs rather than face-to-face.  What does this say about how we feel about each other? Do we dislike each other or do we simply not want to have to get dressed in order to appear decent around others (since we realize many of us are not in college, therefore can no longer pull this look off)?  I think it might be something worth thinking about.

Listen to this song and let me know what you think!  I wanted to share with you a song today by a band that I've enjoyed for years. I first heard them on Pandora probably six years ago or so. I hope you enjoy "Magnetic North" by Jess Than Jake.

Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

I had a really shitty day. I mean I just feel like a boatload of crap and don't even want to go to bed because it means I will have to get up and try to do things right in the morning. But this is the adult life, so it's about time to get used to it and instead of complaining, try and do something to change it.
One of my favorite things to do when I feel this way is to read or watch a movie and there is one movie right now that I would really like to watch but don't have :( That movie is Treasure Planet. If any of you have not seen it then you need to go watch it....now. Seriously....go...it's awesome! It's one of my favorite movies and just to add to it, has a magnificent soundtrack, composed by the amazing James Newton Howard.
For those of you who haven't heard of James Newton Howard, you actually probably have. He is the composer for the soundtracks for other movies such as I Am Legend, The Hunger Games, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, King Kong, and, most recently, Maleficent. I have to say that Treasure Planet is still probably one of my favorite soundtracks of all time and can always put me in a better mood when I listen to it. So, today I will be featuring this wonderful soundtrack and I hope that you enjoy it!

The following is my favorite instrumental and my favorite lyric pieces from the soundtrack, enjoy!

Love,
Sara :)

Weekend Links

Now, I don't exactly have a lot of links for you this weekend because it's been one hell of a week and I've come home exhausted everyday wanting to do nothing but sleep, eat, and read. Seriously, I've gotten like 3 books read just this week and I have 5 more sitting on my desk taking up room because I don't have room anywhere else in my bedroom...whoops! I've been doing a bunch of reading this week (if you can't tell) and due to that I apologize for not posting....like at all....I didn't even make dinner once this week...it was sad! But, there is a silver lining, and that silver lining is that I have been reading articles and have been spending time online as well as in the real world :P which is always something good to do!

• I stumbled across this article on daydreaming and I think it bears a good thing to read!
• Going along with that, an article about things my generation does that are worth thinking about and I happen to agree with 100% of them!
• There's the saying that a picture can take a place of 1000 words, and for this millennium, these pictures do it all justice, the good and the bad.
• I believe that this dumpster house is a unique idea and the start of something but would get tough when you wanted to cook...unless you're going all raw, which another thing all in itself!
• I suppose these shipping container houses are more my style?
• These posters are also really quite awesome and I'm thinking of getting one or two for my bedroom which is looking very blank on the wall decoration aspect....

What types of things did you guys discover this week??

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

Hello there fellow readers~

Today I am going to bring up a music video that I feel is very interesting.  It is rather unusual when I take hours looking into a music video, but this special gem has captured my attention.  It is called La La La by Naughty Boy.  Before discussing this song/video, I urge you to watch it if you haven't already - as first impressions will carve out your initial thoughts.  If you are ahead of the gang and have seen this already, skip down after the video :P

So I am going to break this down into what I feel are the 3 easiest ways to do so.

Number 1:

This seems the be the straightforward approach to interpret this song, and that is by the lyrics themselves.  I can see applying this to perhaps a relationship, a rocky one at best.  A relationship that is very damaged and resulting in one of the members not being able to stand the other at all.  But even if you change the lyrics or see them a bit differently, it only seems to tell part of the story.

Number 2:

The wizard of Oz.  Yup - you probably guessed it by the heart.  But starting from the beginning, the kid leaves his home as Dorthy did, heading into the unknown with his dog.  He meets the tin man, who seems to have false happiness in the gym.  So the child buys him a heart and shows true love, adventuring forward.  Next the scarecrow joins the team to find oz.  They travel long and far and eventually find the spot with oz - the tin man leaving knowing love and the scarecrow leaving with calmness in his mind.   This leads to the boy talking with oz and going home.  Alright - It is a stretch.   But it has some resemblance, but still is rather shaky in the comparison at best.  Leaving us with option 3.

Number 3:

This is the actual basis for the song, and lines up easily the best with both the lyrics and the video.  A Bolivian legend from the from the 19th century.   It is about a deaf boy who fled from his abusive household (as seen in the beginning of the video) and finds a stray dog.  He lives on the streets and discovers he has a special talent of perceiving people's troubles.  These troubles can be healed by screaming.(la la la in the song) His screaming is said to be as loud as an earthquake and a tornado.

Eventually the boy finds a man who is being stoned by villagers while being taunted and ridiculed.(the radio man) By screaming, the boy resolves the situation and revives the old man's heart (the boy buys a new heart for him).

Together, they meet a disfigured man who was abused, and is considered a leper by society. The disfigured man reveals that he is a prophet who was cursed by the demon El Tio - because he didn't worship him. So he left like any sane person would :P

 El Tio is considered as the lord of the underworld, to whom mortal people offer gifts to him in order to be protected by him or to ease his anger. The prophet says anybody who could hear the demon will fall under his control. The disfigured man explained that the demon could be found in desert remains.

This place was once a town in which people worshiped the El Tio - he cursed them to kill themselves. So they trudge through the desert to find a mine where the demon is located. The trick is anybody who enters and could be cursed after hearing the demon speak. So the boy alone goes into the mine to meet the demon and over voice him with his scream to stop him from cursing others.  WHEW!  

Interesting Right??? So in all, I don't think there is a right or wrong way to interpret this song or music in general.  The legend certainly made the most sense to me, but that may not be the same for you.  But I do find it fun trying to figure out the meaning behind some of these interesting artistic pieces and if you stuck through all the way til here - I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!!

As always, thanks for reading!
Have a wonderful day!!!

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Aka: basic things to know how to cook when you move out of your parents' house. I had this urge this past weekend to make cookies, so we did! Just like I used to with my mom and sister :)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp warm water

1 bag (12-oz) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.

3. Add vanilla and eggs and mix until combined.

4. Stir in flour, a little bit at a time, then baking soda, and salt. If you need some extra liquid, add no more than a Tbsp of warm water.

5. Using a wooden spoon, slowly add in the chocolate chips to your batter.

6. Using a table spoon, scoop dough onto a non-stick or sprayed cookie sheet and pop into the oven. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are browned and the center remains slightly soft.

7. Enjoy!

What have you been cooking lately??

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

Summer is always a hectic time, and no matter what it is you do during these few months, there always seems to be a million and one things that need to get done. My summer has been no different, filled with adventures, cooking, eating, good music, and wonderful memories. This past weekend, I attended the wedding of one of my cousins. It was a short but beautiful service followed by a fun and upbeat reception hosted by a BBQ grill (translation: delicious food that even a mostly-vegetarian like me can enjoy!)! The place settings were beautiful and I attempted to take pictures with my phone but was eventually unhappy with nearly all except the following.

There was great food, music, and lots of dancing as is expected at any wedding reception. The couple was quite a fan of country music and it made me laugh at how many country songs I now know. Before moving in with my current apartment mate, I was not a big country fan. Sure I knew Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, and such artists, however, at this wedding several other songs were played and Matt was shocked at how many I knew the lyrics too. Honestly, this shocked me as well, so I thank my apartment mate for expanding my experience and knowledge of music in a completely different direction.
If any of you have any interest in country music or listen to country music, this song was one that I remember being a big hit at the wedding.  This is 'American Kids' by Kenny Chesney.

Enjoy!
Love,
Sara :)

Books Books Books: The Opposite of Maybe

I warn that there are spoilers in my review today!!!! You have been warned!

I hesitated to choose this book when I first saw it on the website, and only picked it after consulting with my roommate that if I didn't like it, she would want to read it as well. However, throughout my experience reading this enthralling novel, I was struck with two competing thoughts: this really isn't my taste, I'm not sure I want to finish and I can't stop reading this deatiled novel. It became harder and harder to put this book down as time continued and ended up completing my reading journey in two days.

Rosie is a unique middle aged woman who is still trying to find her place in this world, finding out she is pregnant is just the cherry on top of the sundae of her complicated life of deciding between tea cup-obsessed Jonathan and separated father Tony, alongside taking care of her stubborn grandmother. While at points I had the desire to reach into the story and smack her or cover her mouth from saying something stupid, I came to realize that this was what made the story seem so real. Each scene was detailed to the extent that I could easily picture what the author was getting at and where her characters were.

Maddie Dawson did an amazing job bringing her characters to life and sucking me into her world. While it did take me a while to get into this book, this book is full of quirky moments as well as scenes that bring you close to tears. Well-written and descriptive, it is a perfect cloudy day read.

What have you all been reading lately? I would love to hear!

Love,

Sara :)

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

Weekend Links

I enjoyed this last time, so I may try and make this a weekly thing with the weekend links! I know it's a popular thing to do around blogs, but honestly it makes sense. I don't mean to copy other people but I like the idea :)

• I might just have to splurge on this shirt because it describes my coffee and book addiction so well.
• Every woman who lives or has been to a big city should go to this website and watch a video or two!
• This one of my new favorite blogs! Go check out her amazing trips!!
• I think this has a very powerful message on street harassment and is an interesting and awesome way to try and get it across!
• There is a post that was published this week that really pin-points exactly how I feel, and I'm sure there are many others who feel this way too.
• I saw this book on the bookshelves the other day and was reminded of a good friend from college and how long it has been since I've had a good Cubano...
• Lastly, I want this print in my apartment! Pronto!

Enjoy and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

Ok, things have been a little crazy lately, and not so much in the real world sense, but more in my head. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about what I want from this world and what I should do with my life. My boss has actually asked me several times where my head is at during work, and she's right, because my head is somewhere else. But thing is that I spend quite a bit of time with my thoughts in my head, and it's really one of my ways of coping with what I'm feeling and what is going on around me. So, maybe that's what is actually up. I think I'm getting tired of people asking what's wrong with me because this is who I am and frankly I like it, if you don't, that's your problem not mine. I want to share this song with you today because it is really a great way of getting across how I have been feeling, I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling this same way! This is "Fade Away" by Matthias (check out his YouTube channel too!), enjoy!!

Love,
Sara :)

Mini Half-Price Haul

Alright, it has been a while since my apartment mate and I went to Half-Price and we were feeling a bit deprived. Not to mention, we saw a trailer for the movie if i stay, which looks amazing, and we felt the need to find the book and read it before the movie comes out (as all good readers know to do). Anyways, my apartment mate ended up purchasing it, so we have a copy, and I think that she has nearly finished it already.
I wanted to share with you my mini-haul of the week, totaling for $17!

1. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin. In case you don't know, I'm a mere 105 pages away from finishing the first book in this brilliant series by George R.R. Martin, so I decided to not wait and purchase the second book in the series. Even though I have not seen the TV series and have barely finished the first book, it is already very clear to me that this series is going to be one of those that will make my head spin and I will love every moment of it. Ok, minus when I started to randomly (in the view of others) scold the author for breaking my heart and killing another one of my favorite characters or the characters for being stupid, but still, the book would not be the same without that! My most expensive book of the haul, but I think $8 was worth it!

2. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Who would not love a book written from the point of man's best friend? Yes, my friends, another book written from the POV of a dog! Rejoice and enjoy!

3. Shakespearean Detectives: Murders and Mysteries Based on Shakespeare's Life and Plays edited by Mike Ashley. This book was more purchased out of curiosity....I love Shakespeare and I really have a hard time passing up anything that has to do with him and/or murder mysteries. Seems like a perfect marriage right?

4. The Templar Legacy by Steven Berry. I had tried to check this book out of the library only to learn that my library card was not accepted in that county :( It made me very sad and when I saw this in the clearance section I couldn't say no. I do love my medieval literature, fiction and not!

What books have you been reading lately?

Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

In honor of the beloved Robin Williams who has left this earth today, I just wanted to share my favorite song of his from one of my favorite childhood movies, Aladdin. I hope you all enjoy the music and remember this amazing man and what he has done for us.

Love,
Sara :)

Books Books Books: Simple Thai Food by Leela Punyaratabandhu

I'm finally getting back into the book reviewing! I'm excited and hopefully you are too! Here goes my first book review back from my time off. :P

When I was in high school, we had a foreign exchange student come and visit from Thailand. Until then, I had never really been exposed to the Thai culture, all I knew was they had elephants and spicy food. My foreign exchange brother, as my sister and I called him, had a dream of someday opening his own restaurant, which of course led to him cooking for us once or twice. He also found a delicious restaurant in Milwaukee where we ended up going several times throughout his stay that served authentic Thai food. I think it was at that point that I fell in love with Thai cuisine. Nearly eight years later, this cookbook has fully renewed that love for Thai food.

Leela Punyaratabandhu has done an amazing job with bringing out the beauty and subtle complexity that Thai food offers. As soon as I opened the book, I was struck by the colorful pictures and ended up paging through the book first just to see the bright colors of the food that I could not wait to cook in my own kitchen. Her descriptions of each dish at the start were funny and felt homey at the same time, with a friendly voice to the narrations and optional American alternatives that make each dish more available to those of us unable to order completely authentic ingredients.

As with many different authentic cuisine books, some of the ingredients were a bit more on the pricy side, so for people on a limited budget it is a bit more difficult. It also is not a cookbook that is friendly towards certain dietary restrictions, just as a forewarning. Another thought to be noted is that this cookbook is not for those looking for a quick meal; the recipes are complicated and require several ingredients that most households would not normally have in order to attain the unique Thai flavors. However, the aroma that filled my apartment as I tried my hand at Leela's recipes is one that will bring your friends and neighbors knocking to try a taste.

I hope that you get the opportunity to try out some of these recipes, which I will be posting a few of my own vegetarian alterations as well as possibly some chicken recipes as soon as I get my act together.

Love,
Sara :)

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

Muisca Monday

It is officially musical h-e-double-hockey-sticks week for many people, myself included. Why? It's dress rehearsal for the musical!! Opening night is Thursday and we have yet to get through the entire musical without stopping or getting confused! Yay!! 0.0 Why do I put myself through this year after year? Honestly, it's goofy. But musical people live for it, we are just crazy like that. So, yea, that's what's going on for me this week...
In other news, I signed up for a half marathon (yes, 13.1 miles) in September and I am super excited to run it, plus kinda scared too. I'm still trying to run more than 6 or 7 miles without my body being done, so we shall see how this goes! :P
Today's music is brought to you by the lovely YouTube (as usual) and by my roomie. She was the one who showed this to me and now I am sharing with you! I hope you enjoy "I'm Ready" by AJR, who are a YouTube sensation who have captured the interest of so many people worldwide!

 

 

Love,

Sara :)

Weekend Links

Since I'm not posting on weekends (and struggling with the posting otherwise) I've decided to give you guys a post of what I've found looking around the internet during my 'free time', meaning while I'm sitting at work between clients, don't tell my boss. I hope you guys enjoy!

• Found this blog while looking through Bloglovin, and these look delicious!
• Also this bread sounds like a much better breakfast than my current cereal.
• Officially adding these countries to my travel list, several were already there, but now the rest are too!
• As some of you way know, I'm now registered on this site and just got my cookbook in the mail! I can't wait to start!
• Just because I'm mostly vegetarian doesn't mean I can't appreciate delicious looking chicken like this.
• If you're looking to travel to the Galapagos, Ecuador, or Peru this could be a great place to look.
• And you have to admit that a chair like this would be awesome!
• I have to end on this though, I think we all sometimes need the reminder...

It's amazing how much is really out there if you just take the time to look. What have you guys found recently?

Love,
Sara :)

Blogging for Books

Due to my recent desire to read, but the lack of actually following through with it, I have joined a website called Blogging for Books. I still plan to finish the books I had listed in my Summer Reading List, but now will be receiving books in the mail to read and review online here. I am excited to get back into the swing of writing reviews for the books I read and really thinking about them instead of just jumping into the next one like I have been doing recently.

The premise of this website seems to be to allow book lovers to read and rate books for free. Which in my opinion, is awesome! I can order one book at a time and need to post a review within 90 days of receiving the book. This review should be posted both on the Blogging for Books blog and on my blog as well, meaning it will show up here! After posting a review I can request a new book.

I am super excited to get started with this and look forward to my first book, Simple Thai Food by Leela Punyaratabandhu, which is coming in the mail! I can't wait to share these reviews. I know this blog isn't very widely read but these reviews are for those who do get the chance to get on and read. You are awesome!

Love,
Sara :)

Muisca Monday

Changes are good...right? I mean there's a lot to be said for changing little things in our lives like exercising and eating well, and I do not mean to belittle these things at all, but what about changes so big that they require a complete lifestyle change? The problem with being in my head is that I keep thinking about how much things can change and what would happen if things were to change, I'm that annoying student who asks 'what if' in the middle of a class discussion where there should not be a 'what if' asked. Yea, especially in college, I was not much of a talker in high school.
But as I think about it, it's kinda silly to keep asking what if when it is what it is and it's the changes that really make us who we are and make us think. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm doing quite a bit of changing lately and they will only continue to happen as long as I stay on the path I'm going. I hope that you all are willing to take some risks and try something new! This song has been in my head all day, it's called "Change Your Life" by Little Mix. Btw I love her purple hair! Enjoy!

Love,
Sara :)

Books Books Books: Summer Reading Update

Hey all! So, last month I made a list of the books that I was going to read this summer. I apologize but I haven't been putting up any sore of reviews here, mostly because I've been kinda lazy. Anyways, I wanted to take this time to summarize what I've ready as of now since it's near the end of the first month of summer!

As of now I've read only two books on my list, Divergent and The Lightening Thief. However, to be honest, I got distracted by The Lightening Thief and ended up reading the entire Percy Jackson and the Olympians series in a few sittings. This series was awesome and really held my interest throughout the books. Now, yes I do have the mind of a teenager at times when it comes to books, but I think these are all definitely worth a read. As for the Divergent series, my apartment mate has just finished the second book in the series, Insurgent, and has started the third, Allegiant, I think I may hold off on these two though until she finishes the last one so I can read them all the way through without having to wait. The first one was brilliant and I can't wait to read the rest of the series! I've heard good things!

Instead, next on my list is going to be Game of Thrones. Now, a disclaimer, I realized that the picture I put up on my previous post about this book was a picture of the cover of the graphic novel. I will not be reading the graphic novel, but the actual thick, paperback version of the story. I'm hoping to have this one done before Matt and I head to a friend's for the 4th of July.

For any of you who did look at my Goodreads account, you know that I am also reading a few other books at the same time. I hardly ever only read one book at a time, that's just not my style. I am also currently reading My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire by Michelle Goodman, mostly because I've got this dream of being able to write my own stories someday and I'm a personal trainer (not usually classified as creative, but still a professional for hire!) and knowing how to run my own 'company' or at least hire myself out is something that I think would be good to know! The other book on my reading list is Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, according to my boss, it's a book that every professional should read (even though it was published originally in 1936) and so I am reading it. Lastly, Eating Animals is still not done...it's hard for me to get through.

I put this last picture in here because that is how I'm feeling a bit about my summer reading list, since nearly all the books have been made into movies (nothing to say the movies were bad....but Percy Jackson?), be sure to ready the books if you want to learn the true meaning behind over half the movie and what really happened to the characters! Just because the movie isn't the best means nothing for the worth of the book itself! Remember :)

Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

I had a rough day. Well, more accurately a rough hour and a half at work. It shook me up pretty bad and I'm all ready to hand in the towel and quit. No looking back or anything. I've only been in this situation once before and luckily that was solved and everyone moved on. I'm not sure what it is about this, but I was legitimately terrified for a while and ended up calling my supervisor, who talked to me for a good 5-10 minutes in order to calm me down enough to talk explain what happened. There are certain things I will share here, and there are certain things I will not. All I can really say is that I am super glad that tomorrow is not an early day. I've been considering leaving this job for a while anyways, I'm feeling like now might be a good time.

Have you ever had one of those days? Or one of those times where you just get so scared that you wish you could pause your life and just leave it? It's probably one of the most terrifying things I've ever felt. You can think I'm over reacting and maybe I am, but right now it's feeling pretty real. They say that having no reason to stay is a good reason to go, maybe it's getting close to that time... I'm not sure but I've been thinking that a lot more lately...

The song for today, I'm not exactly sure where it came from, it's just what has been playing in my head the entire time I've been writing this post. It's actually written by one of the bands that got me into alternative music, The Killers, but I feel like this is one of their lesser known, called 'Dustland Fairytale'. Enjoy, dear readers. I hope that your days are much better than mine was :)

Love,
Sara :)

Summer Plans

It's official! Matt and I have planned our very first camping trip together! There are a bunch of things to get ready for, but the hardest part is to stay focused on the real world until then. We are going to be camping in August for the weekend north of here on the other side of Wisconsin. I'm so excited and can't wait to share what we are planning with you all!!

As part of this trip, I have decided that I am way over due for getting that new camera. So, I'm taking suggestions and am planning on getting a camera (probskies a video?) for our trip because, let's face it, my iPhone just isn't going to do the trick here.

Musica Monday

Ever had one of those days/nights where no matter what you know nothing is going to get done? Well, I've been having a few of those lately, and it has lead me to watching a bunch of cheezy romantic movies and finding music and shows and books that appeal to me at such a late hour. I should preface this by stating that this usually happens around 9pm, and the not being able to get anything done encompasses going to sleep. Lately, I've been writing while watching these cheezy romantic movies, and one of my favorites has become 'Slightly Single in L.A.' which is definitely a movie that I would recommend for anyone looking for a romantic comedy to watch. This movie follows a young woman who moves to L.A. after her past three relationships ended in cheating (sad sounding I know, but it's quite amusing none the less), anyways she heads out to L.A., lives with her best friend (who is awesome) and hangs out with her crazy friends. There is a new love interest again (well a few...) and while this movie portrays personal trainers as self-centered and pompous, the musician she knows is quite sweet. This is where my music for today's Musica Monday comes from. This song is by the 'Aaron Hendra Project' called 'Walk With Angels'. Listen and enjoy, my friends.

The CD that includes this song, Octobersong, was just released a month ago on iTunes and includes other songs such as 'Alive', 'U', and 'One Man's War (feat. Children of Shekinah Children's Village, Nimule, South Sedan', which is an amazing song with the voices of actual children from South Sedan who have been rescued that gives me chills, but is such an inspiring and brilliant song! I don't think I can give a good enough summary of this song without having you watch this video and listen to the words he sings.

Enjoy and peace, friends!
Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

Hey friends, I'm back. These past few weeks have been absolutely nuts for me and I have been beyond stressed! I owe Matt for bringing a post last week...even though it was the only one. I've been struggling with whether I want to continue with my current jobs a lot lately simply because I end many of my days looking to my dear Matt for a reason to continue working these jobs. However, this is only every so often because for the majority of the time I find my jobs rewarding, draining (physically, emotionally, and mentally) to the point where I am almost not coherent some nights when I'm home, but rewarding in knowing that I am making a difference in peoples' lives.

I don't mean to complain, but I guess I just wanted to give a quick explanation (I prefer not to think of it as an excuse) as to where I am personally since this blog is a bit about me personally as well.

I've been listening to some new music lately and a few weeks ago I was on Pandora listening to music while reading and I heard this song. Now, I'm a fan of the singer/songwriter genre as you may know if you've read this blog before. The artist I'm sharing today is called Jaymay. Made up of a woman in her early thirties, Jamie Kristine Seerman is originally from New York. Her music to me encompasses the essence of singer/songwriter with a bit of folk tossed in. This is 'Sea Green, See Blue' by Jaymay. Enjoy!

Also, I'd like to just put in here that this song is beautiful and is honestly the quintessential break-up song, however, I personally am not going through a break-up, I just happen to like the song.

Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

I am going to keep this post short and sweet.  Today I am going to share a song that is very meaningful to me.  This is a classic song that was brought back in one of the best ways possible a few years ago with the Portal franchise from steam.

If you haven't heard of it, this is Cara Mia, and this version is is done by A Cappela.  It is basically identical to the version in the Portal franchise.  I couldn't give any higher praise to the series and suggest you all give it a try if you haven't.  I mention this not as a shameless plug, but because the context makes me tear up to this song every time I hear it.  Not only are these guys amazing singers, but the significance really gets to me.  If you have played the portal games and don't completely understand why it can be so emotional, I give you the task of looking up what the lyrics mean.  Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed this short little gem and hope all you readers have a fantastic day/night! 

As always, thanks for reading,

Matt

Tips For Exercise

Working out is hard. I will be one of the first to admit that, and I'm not talking about the workouts themselves (which should be challenging unless it is a rest day) but actually getting up and working out is hard to do. In all honesty, for some people it is nearly impossibly to do on their own, and you know what? That's ok! That's why I have a job, if everyone could workout as well as Jillian Michaels, I honestly wouldn't have a job and that would be unfortunate for me. However, it is something that the majority of us do find to be necessary in order to maintain our health, therefore I've been thinking of some ways that could hopefully make exercising a bit easier as far as getting out and doing it. 

1. Find something you enjoy. Not everyone enjoys lifting weights or running, maybe biking is more your thing. Perhaps you are more of a class or group exercise person, I know I'm going to try out a newish kickboxing gym not too far from my place just to see if I like the workout. For those of you who can find workouts online or can figure out what to do yourself, keep being awesome! I find it much easier to train someone than it is to train myself.

2. Have a reason to workout. This can be anything from weight loss to stress reliever to because my doctor says so. No matter the reason, keep that in mind whenever you start a workout or whenever you debate working out or not. Honestly, if you have time to debate working out or not, you have the time and should just go do it already. What's the saying? If you had started when you first thought of it, you'd be done by now? Yea, sometimes it's more true than you think.

3. Don't go extreme. That is unless that's what works for you, but for the majority, even a 30 minute exercise 2 or 3 days a week is better than nothing. You don't have to be able to bench press your max everyday or break your record for mileage and time every run. Pace yourself and have some days that are easier and some that are harder. Everyday doesn't need to leave you exhausted and sometimes 20 minutes is enough. 

4. Find a friend. Working out with someone else has been proven to help with motivation and keeps you honest. This also holds you accountable to getting up in the morning and working out, you wouldn't want to let that friend down when you don't show, would you?

5. Enjoy yourself. It's not meant to be torture (at least not the kind that I do), if you're leaving the gym feeling like crap after every workout, something is wrong. When you exercise, your body produces endorphins and endorphins make you happy (and happy people don't kill their husbands....10 points for the reference!). So, enjoy what you're doing!

I hope that this helps at least a little. If you have any questions feel free, I'll do my best to answer. What do you enjoy to do for exercise?

Love,

Sara :)

Decorating My Bedroom: Clocks

As many of you know, I moved into a new apartment with a roommate this about six weeks ago (woah!) and since then it's been busy nearly all the time for both of us. However, we are still trying to figure out how to make our home seem more like a home. Being me, I turned to books for advice, specifically: I'm currently breezing my way through Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown. This is one read I would highly recommend for anyone who is moving into a house or apartment for the first time (more likely apartment, but the same stuff can also apply to a house) mostly because it addresses pretty much everything from cooking, to what to look for in an apartment, to dating, to dealing with neighbor's sex noises....yes, it's actually in here!

Anyways, that was a bit of a tangent, getting back to our new apartment! We are working on decorating and while things are coming around slowly, one thing that we both have noticed that we need are clocks. So, being that the clocks we've been finding at Michaels and Kohls have been either not our style or too big, I've been turning to the internet for ideas! What do you guys think?

ThinkGeek is always a great place to start! :P This clock has always been one of my favorites since I first saw it in a friend's room in college. Find it here!

Or if you're in doubt, Etsy is another place where you can find some of the more creative versions of anything. Also, I do tend to be late for things...so this clock is quite accurate for me! Find it here!

I really can't help but put up this clock as one that I'd love to have hanging in my own kitchen someday! Maybe a bit ambitious considering my current state, but I love it just the same. And, it's from the lovely ladies at A Beautiful Mess!

What do you guys think? Kinda cute clocks? I'm not sure what we are going to be doing as far as reality goes, probably more window shopping until one of us finds something that we both like and that works for our place, but I wanted to share these :)

Love,

Sara :)

Spicy Thai Noodles

It's been a while since I've had the time to sit down and make a meal. Since moving, my apartment mate, Morgan, and I have found ourselves in a bit of a conundrum. We have quite different work schedules which lead her to leave the apartment by 6:45am and get back after school gets out, but due to her early morning she is in bed pretty early (by my standards). I, on the other hand, get done with work much later and by the time I get home Morgan is getting ready for bed. Suffice to say, we hardly ever eat dinner together.

However, this month we are home together for dinner two nights during the week, which is awesome! This lead us to think about making food, which is something that I enjoy doing (when time permits) and she enjoys as well. So, what did we do this past Tuesday night? Wine and cooking! It was great!

We found this recipe on Pinterest (as do so many people) and connected to a clog called A Small Snippet. It's pretty cool, and we used this recipe with a few adjustments of our own, so enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 box linguine pasta (we used whole grain cause it's yummy)
1 tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes (unless you are actually Thai, I would not recommend adding more than that, it's quite spicy!)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sesame oil
6 tbsp. honey
6 tbsp. soy sauce
toppings (we used carrots, but couldn't find peanuts at our grocery store...fail)

Directions:
1. Cook noodles according to directions until al dente. Drain.
2. Heat both oils and crushed red pepper over medium heat un a small pan for about 2 minutes. During this time the red pepper will infuse into your oil mixture making it hotter. After, make sure to strain out the red pepper flakes, you can leave a few more in if you want some extra heat, but that's kinda crazy.
3. Into your oil mixture, whisk in your honey and soy sauce.
4. Toss mixture together with the noodles and refrigerate.
5. Slice up your carrot or peanuts or whatever topping(s) you have chosen.

They will keep for a few days, you can eat them cold or warm, and serve with milk and enjoy!

I had to add in a picture with our glasses because I think they are super fun and cute with the polka dots :)

What did you guys think? Worth trying? I think for sure! What types of food should we try next?
Also, as a hint, red wine does not really go with spicy food, so make sure to have milk with these noodles to help with the spicy-ness.

Love,
Sara :)

Summer Reading List 2014

I was meaning to put up a spring reading list for this year and then never did. So, here's my summer reading list of books that I want to get read by the time September rolls around. Now, for those of you who know me, you know that I don't always pick the books that I'm going to read, especially at the library, they almost pick me. I'm starting this list at the end of May (or planning on it at least), I mean summer is sort of a unspecified amount of time, so does it really matter? Meh, we will see :P

1. Divergent series. My apartment mate is actually getting me a copy of the first book in this series and I am super excited to read it. Yea, I'm a little slow on the uptake on this book, but better late than never right?

2. Game of Thrones. I started this book a year or so ago and then lost it for a while and really need to get started on it again because I want to know what happens but I don't remember enough to start again where I left off.

3. The Lightening Thief. Yea, I think I said this one last time too....but honestly this just needs to happen. Like, seriously.

4. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. I finished the first one and it turned out I didn't have the second one :( So, I need to get my act together and get it read while the last one is still fresh in my mind. Also, side note here: if you haven't actually read this series, you are seriously missing out on a great adventure story!

5. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. Long title, but after reading what it's about on Amazon and reading the reviews, I can't help but admit that it sounds so cute and awesome. Not to mention I've been starting to read more non-fiction books and even though they tend to take me longer, they are a lot of fun and really interesting!

6. Wuthering Heights. Yea, yea. I'm a post-college bookworm who hasn't read one of the most popular classics in the history of writing. Sue me...I'm working on it!

I am currently finishing up In The City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist by Pete Jordan, and all I can say now is that Amsterdam is definitely on my list of places to go when I travel the world!
What are you guys gonna read this summer? What other things do you have planned for this summer? Follow me on Goodreads!

Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

Ever feel like you're just not good enough? Like what people are expecting of you and what you are capable of doing are two very different things? It's not fun and tends to cause a lot of stress and panic or general dissatisfaction. I've had several problems like that lately and it frustrates me that I can't do what I need to on my own and I need help from outside sources. Last week was a long week and this week promises to be just as busy, however, an important step I've learned from past experience is something that teachers try to teach us at a young age and most of us just kinda ignore. We can't all be perfect all the time, and I mean what's so great about being perfect anyways? If we were all perfect, there would be no variety in this world and we wouldn't each have our own little quirks. Instead take those quirks that bother you or someone else so much and accept them. They are a part of you and they really aren't going anywhere if you want to stay as yourself, an individual. As much as I advocate exercise to help your mood (endorphins are awesome!), the hardest part of doing something is the part between where you think you can't and where you do it, when you start thinking in a positive manner, you'd be amazed what you can do.
Alright, I'll get off my little soapbox here. I just needed a mini rant for a bit :P

Today's song is one I think about when I get down because it really makes me want to get up and smile and keep going! Enjoy 'On Top of the World' by Imagine Dragons.

Love,
Sara :)

Under the Weather

I always thought I was someone who didn't get sick too much, but it seems like I've been sick quite a bit lately...I'm not sure, maybe it's just me. Whatever it is, I've had a cold since Friday which has been accompanied by mood swings, a stuffy/runny nose, headaches, stomach aches, lots of sleepiness, and a general feeling of being crappy. I just wanted to appoligize and let you know that I'm still alive and be on the look out for some posts upcoming. For now, I'm curled up under a soft and warm blanket with a book and a box of Kleenex trying to fall asleep...I didn't get to prepare a Musica Monday for you this week and I'm sorry about that....I hope to be back in action within a day or two! Seriously, my boss has a cold now too....never a good combination!!

In other news, the apartment is going awesomely and I've finally figured out the new (for me) library's policy for getting books from other libraries! Plus I've been working on some crafts that I hope to show you guys soon :D and Tuesday is my mom's birthday, so...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMY!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Love,

Sara :)

IDEA Fitness Journal

My boss (who hates when I call her my boss) gets a journal every few months called IDEA Fitness Journal. After she reads through it, she is nice enough to let me look through it as well. I've been a CPT for almost 5 months now and I've learned a lot just through experience, so when we are told that experience is the best teacher, it's honestly true!

 

Anyways, this Journal is interesting because it is written for CPTs and Fitness Studio/Gym owners. There are articles in here about all sorts of things from nutrition to group exercise to senior fitness and just about everything in between. For instance, in the April 2014 issue (which I am currently going through) a few of the articles include "Health Profiles of Extreme Marathoners" and "Personal Training for Tennis Players", along with an article about how important post-workout rest is called "Recovery: The Rest of the Story", even personal trainers are allowed our little puns! But one of my favorite parts of this Journal is how it introduces new ideas (well, at least new to me) in the form of exercises, training methods, as well as nutrition. Below is pictured an article from last year about a food called Freekeh or Freikeh or Farik (depending where you look), which I had never heard of before and found it very interesting Stay tuned for possible recipes later on!

 

I haven't done much journal reading since college simply due to the fact that these articles cost money and that is not exactly something I have a plethora of currently. However, whenever I get my hands on any sort of Journal of this sort, I get this old excitement in my gut that I'm going to learn something good. Yea, I'm a bit of a nerd here, but I'm proud of it and I love that there is always more to learn no matter what field I'm reading up on! What types of reading do you do for your career?

Love,
Sara :)

 

Good Ol' Musica Monday

Oh hello there folks! This Monday (sorry it is a bit late, I am writing this as soon as I got home from work) I wish to share some music with you!  This week I am using the song Love Me Again by John Newman.  I heard this song a few weeks ago on YouTube, and despite being a bit late to the train, I really dig it!  Here is the link so you can listen while reading:

So yea...I really like his voice.  I am just amazed at the many little alterations he does while he sings.  I find it to be rather unique, but I understand that is up for argument.  Any-who, I also like the song because of the lyrics and the emotion he puts behind it.  And I find his dancing rather  classy.  Maybe I should take dance lessons...well that is a project for another day!  Well I will keep this short and simple, so thanks for reading and listening :D If you liked it, cool! If not, tell me why.  And either way, have a great day! 

Dreams: Ideas and Traveling

Sometimes I get ideas. Ok, I get lots of ideas and many of them float through my head and are stored way back in a distant, cobweb-filled corner of my brain to most likely never be seen again. However, some ideas stick with me and no matter what they don't ever seem to really leave. These are only emphasized by me finding people who share my ideas and who are equally as enthusiastic to try and someday put them into action. Now that's the key word: someday. I feel like half of my ideas get thrown out because of a lack of time or money or the drive (honestly I can get pretty lazy some days). However, I have been talking to people especially lately because I was suddenly put back in contact with friends I haven't talk to since I'm not sure when. What happened? Facebook and I had a birthday, and what happens? All those friends you used to talk to send you messages saying 'Happy Birthday! I miss you! We should get together! Where are you now?' I don't mean to sound mocking, but it seems to be what we all end up expecting when our birthdays come around and we go of Facebook. Well, this year I actually went through and answered all of the people that I never talked to and tried to catch up with the ones that I could. I had a lengthy discussion with a friend from Washington about going out and visiting her and another with a high school friend who is now in California (what?!) and moving to New York next year (sweet!). It was actually pretty fun!

Now I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to my ideas. I have these ideas and one big one that I've had for years was to travel to all 50 states and to as many countries around the world as possible. I currently have a severe case of wanderlust! As Matt and my relationship has progressed, we have learned quite a bit about each other and one thing that we both really want to do is travel. When I shared this idea with him, he was super supportive as long as he could come along, which I have absolutely no problem with! Anyways, this is where talking to long lost friends comes in. I talked to this friend in Washington, and I think Matt and I might be going out to Washington for a visit later this summer or this fall if possible! I am super excited to get this traveling started! I know we are still young, but there is just so much out there to see and do and we want to do so much that we better get started soon!

With our first few stops consisting of Chicago, Minneapolis, and possibly Washington (random, but hopefully it works!) I can't wait to see what other adventures the future holds!

What sorts of adventures do your lives have? Remember adventures don't have to be traveling to a foreign country or even to another state, an adventure is whatever you make it and it can really be anything! So, go forth, and be adventurers!

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

It's a great feeling to know when someone has faith in you. I'm not just talking about letting you come to work and take on more responsibility, I'm looking at more the whole boss leaving you in charge for a while....or a week. Yea, I'm the only one at the studio for the next week! It's a bit crazy and I won't lie to being nervous, but I'm excited and super proud that she has that much faith in me that she's willing to leave the studio in my hands for one week. Never would have thought that they would be willing to do this before my one year of working here came up much less four months into actually training! Anyways, most of us experience this at one point or another in our lives, whether it is the first time we are allowed to drive that car by ourselves or the first time our parents don't call us for an eta of being home that night or even when the boss asks us to mind the shop for an hour or two, no matter how small it might seem to onlookers, it really is a big deal! It's moments like that that we treasure deep in our consciousness and look back on whenever we are feeling unhappy to turn around our mood.

I have an old friend whom I haven't seen in years who has been struggling with a lot of stuff lately. I remember her being one who was always able to help me with things when I was in trouble emotionally. We used to run track together and she was the one who could always get me revved up and excited before one of my races, by giving me this feeling, she was able to help me through more than just my races. I wish I could say thank you to her in person but New York is a long ways away and I'm broke...stupid college loans.... Every one of us needs a person who we can turn to for help and someone who is willing to give our egos a bit of a stroke just because that's what we need at the time. If you don't have a friend like that, look at yourself. Are you that friend? Who can you turn to when you are in need of just someone to tell you that you are awesome and to keep trucking through?

This song is by Krewella, and I'm not the biggest on putting up songs that are super popular but I really think that this helps to emphasize what I'm trying to say in this post. So enjoy 'Alive' and remember to keep looking ahead, the world continues and it doesn't do to dwell on dreams and forget to live :P

Love,
Sara :)

Types of Tea and What They Do

Ever since college I have been an avid tea drinker. Between me and Morgan, I think we have eight or nine different varieties of tea in our cabinet at home. Coffee is good and I have stopped a few times this week to get my vanilla soy latte from Starbucks on my way to work, but there is something about a cup of tea that puts a smile on my face.

My first few years in college, I drank mostly green tea due to the fact that we were able to buy a 100 pack (or something ridiculous) at Costco and I could go through a bag each day. Now, being the nerd I am, I did do a bit of research on green tea and was encouraged to find that there were several benefits from drinking this tea. Some of these include: being an excellent source of anti-oxidants, lowers stress, reduces high blood pressure, rehydrates even better than water, and boosts your immunity.

I also did learn that if I had more than two large mugs in a six hour span I got a little twitchy, but this was simply from a caffeine overload in my system.

While green tea was my go to, every holiday season my mom would make peppermint tea. This stuff is delicious and to this day I feel weird having peppermint tea at any time other than during November and December. Peppermint tea is helpful with relieving stomach cramps, so I have been considering using it if my period cramps ever come back (hey, I'm a girl. I'll talk about whatever, not shy about it.). It is also supposed to help with headache problems (helloooooo migraines).

Currently, my favorite teas extend farther than green tea and peppermint tea, into Oolong tea and most Lemon or Peach teas.

Oolong tea, for those of you who aren't big tea drinkers, is a partially dried then steamed tea leaf and has a flavor that is somewhere between black and green tea. It's more floral and smoky and goes will with juicier fruits such as peaches and nectarines. It has been linked in some studies to weight loss, but don't drink this just for weight loss, it can also help to keep blood sugar, cholesterol, and acne in check!

From what I've read, lemon or peach teas really don't offer a lot as far as extra benefits, but they taste really good and like any tea, help with hydration and cleansing your system.

Studies have shown that drinking tea can help reduce your risk of heart disease by 20-25% and lowers your risk of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer. So, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things!

What kinds of tea do you drink?

Love,
Sara :)

Eating Healthy on a Budget

We've had nearly two weeks living on our own and we've come up with a sort of routine already. Neither of us tend to be home together a lot just due to the circumstances of our jobs, and that seems to work out just fine. We are great when it comes to communicating and letting each other know when the boys are coming over or other friends or the such.

We have also gotten pretty good at grocery shopping, which is interesting cause when I talk to other people about roommates and cooking and food they seem to do things differently. All I can say is that we are splitting the cost of food and that is working very well.

This brings me to a thought that I had concerning this sort of cooking. Maybe it's the personal trainer in me....idk! Is it possible to eat healthy and not break the bank with organic foods? Turns out yes, it is! Here are a few things I've learned through research as well as just from experience.

1. When going grocery shopping, have a list and stick to that list. It helps to plan your meals ahead of time so you know exactly what you will need.

2. Eat seasonally. Produce is cheaper while it is in season, not to mention it is easier to find and tends to taste a lot fresher. This can also be achieved by going to farmers' markets. I know my area does have winter farmers' market, check and see if your area does! I'm hoping to go this month and see how prices look and see what they have in general!

3. Cook large amounts of food and freeze portions for later. This includes rice, beans, meat, veggies, etc. Honestly, this is very useful. If you are planning on keeping your stuff in the freezer for a while, make sure you put the date on the container or bag so you know how old they are!

So, yea. I hope that these are helpful! Yay for healthy eating while not breaking the bank!
How do you eat healthy? I love hearing responses!

Love,
Sara :)

ps. I am working on making some fun magnets, time has just not been on my time lately....

Musica Monday

Some days just have an upbeat feeling to them. For me, today was one of those days. I went running outside for the first time without a coat today, which was quite exciting. Also, I tried a new app starting this past weekend called 'happiness' which is supposed to help you see the happy parts of your day. I think it is a cute idea, I mean it isn't exactly what I need or anything, but I wanted to give it a shot anyways. All I can say is that this morning I woke up in a very good mood. I mean I was tired, which is why I stopped at Starbucks and got a grande vanilla soy latte (I'd love to someday be able to make my own version....*daydream here*), maybe it's more because of the fact that my mind thinks coffee and therefore thinks "now you're awake!", but I was pretty awake all day. Not only that, but I managed to get my taxes filed (finally) this evening, which is quite helpful!
I'm going to go back to the 90s for today's Musica Monday because there was a lot of more upbeat music that really just seemed very random (at least to me at the time) but to this day, whenever I listen to these songs I still smile or at least have the desire to dance along a little to the beat. Let me know what you guys think :) This song is "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" by Counting Crows.

Love,
Sara :)